The Popularity of Voting

It seems that every minute of the day the upcoming election is present. Whether its a conversation in class, the news, the radio, a tee-shirt, or at the lunch table people are constantly involved with the election and everyone has an opinion. I find it interesting that this wouldn't have been the case 200 years ago.  When the Constitution was first created the only people allowed to vote were the members of the Electoral College. Members of the Electoral College were typically wealthy white land owners. The Constitutions creators did not trust the ordinary citizen to be capable of making the decision of who our President should be. 

I wonder how the Presidential Election of 2008 would differ from our countries first elections?   Today any US citizen over the age of 18 can vote, regardless of their gender, race, occupation or social status.  If our election process hadn't changed, I doubt the Candidates would be paying for 30 minute advertisements on major networks or that the media would be as involved in all aspects of the campaigns. However, the ultimate decision remains in the control of the Electoral College, a fact I often forget due to the constant bombardment of media that tells voters how important their decision is. I do believe that the Electoral College is an important institution because many voters will vote on the candidate based on how he appears in the media, their vote will not be based on the candidates qualifications or policies. The Electoral College continues to ensure that the President  will ultimately be put into power by people who are well educated on the current issues and how each candidate plans to address them. 

Dreams and Realities: Beijing Olympics 2008

The Olympics has always been a place where dreams come true. Whether it is an athlete who has been training for this moment their whole lives, a parent anxiously waiting to see the result of their child's dedication, or a spectator who wants to see their country win the gold. With these dreams comes controversy; this year it was centered around the Chinese gymnastic team. The Chinese Olympic team had all the talent and dedication required to compete in the olympics, but had they met the age requirement? While watching I was surprised with how young some of the gymnasts appeared to be. I clearly was not the only person to feel this way, the gymnasts' ages were questioned in reports by The New York Times and Associated Press. Athletes must meet an age requirement of 16. The Chinese gymnasts He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan, and Yang Yilin definitely appear to be younger than 16. Their ages continue to be under investigation. 

Did the Chinese Olympic team let their dream of winning the gold get in the way of reality?

Seeing as the Olympics took place in Beijing this year, the "home" team might have been willing to win, at any cost. The Olympics is a world wide competition, each country must uphold the rules made by the Olympic Committee.  It is unfair to all the other gymnasts who competed, and also those who were unable to compete because of the age restriction. The Chinese victory has  been surrounded by controversy; many people do not accept them as the true gold medalists.  I hope that in the future teams do not allow their dream to prevent them from competing fairly. 

What it means to be an American

Our first unit question of American Studies was "What does it mean to be an "American"? Angelina Jolie gave her answer to this question in a recent interview with Hello! magazine. She said "One of the best things about America is that we area melting pot, a mix of many,many different races and nations. Yes, they have their own nationalities and are very proud of them, but that certainly doesn't diminish the fact that they're American. To me, that is what being American is."  For those of you who are not aware Angelina Jolie has 6 children, 3 of them have been adopted and all of the children were born in foreign countries. Her view of America as a melting pot is commonly held, but her family is a very unique American family. 

This question also relates to the presidential elections. During the elections the phrase "American" is constantly used. Each candidate tries to appeal to all Americans, often subtly changing their speeches to appeal to the type of people in their audience or the issue they are speaking on. The diversity of America is something that makes it so unique as a country, and that is why the President must be good at unifying the many types of people that make up our country. 

Woman Attempts Suicide After Facing Eviction From Home

This week, a 90 year-old woman in Ohio shot herself. The shot was not fatal, the reason was that she was facing eviction from her home of 38 years. Addie Polk was found by police in her home with a self inflicted gun shot wound in her shoulder. Deputies have given Polk's eviction notice 30 times before she shot herself. She could not keep up with the mortgage of her modest single family home. The article concluded by saying "Home foreclosure rates are at record highs in the United States, in many cases because buyers adjustable interest rates could not keep up with sharp increases in monthly payments. The foreclosure crisis has sparked wider housing market downturn and is at the heart of the U.S. financial crisis." 

This specific example really made me realize the perilous times we are living in. I have never really understood the stock market, the importance of a lot of what is said on the news about the financial crisis is hard for me to grasp. However, when I saw how the crisis was affecting one person it suddenly became a lot more real. The crisis is going to hit those living on fixed income the hardest. It is much more difficult to them to just "ride it out". Suicide rates in the United States were highest during the Depression, this current economic crisis has already caused at least one attempt at suicide. Lets hope our current  and new leaders find a solution to the current financial crisis.