Theme Song: "A Change Would Do You Good" - Sheryl Crow
Taking matters into her own hands, over the summer of '07, Nicole, a fellow junior, posted a political call to action in the Student Digest. And upon returning to school in the fall, the Gettysburg chapter of the Students for Barack Obama was born. I figured I'd take this time to talk about why I joined the group and why I willingly have given up free time to do phone banking, canvassing (*cringe*), voter registration, donating (*double cringe*), and of course, casting my ballot in the PA primary.
For me, the choice of Barack Obama was an easy one. But contrary to popular belief, his ethnicity never had anything to do with it. Since the 2004 election, the Democratic Party's tragic flaw has been its utter willingness to nominate the most boring, robotic, uncharismatic people for office. Personally, I was all for Wesley Clark back then, but unfortunately, Madonna's support kinda turned him into a joke.
I was initially drawn to Barack Obama because of his charisma and his amazingly genuine, heartfelt speeches that are a breath of fresh air compared to those of other politicians. People cite his inexperience in the White House as his greatest weakness, but I see that as his biggest strength. The fact of the matter is: Washington is corrupt. We need a change, someone who isn't from the classic school of shady, cutthroat politicians. In fact, the main reason I'm not supporting Hillary is because she is TOO GOOD at being a stereotypical politician: cold, calculating, willing to do and say anything to get a vote. I want someone else.
GLBT EQUALITY
Even though the idea of Gay Marriage hasn't really crossed my mind, as a member of the GLBT community, I will fight and claw for future generations' right to marry. During the course of my LAS class, Sexuality As Political Discourse, I found it fascinating that there have been cultures (Native American tribes, among others) in which gay marriages existed and were treated with respect.
I agree with Barack Obama's opinion to leave it up to denominations to recognize gay marriages; furthermore, I agree that if the federal government refuses to use the word "marriage," then civil union partnerships should have benefits (joint tax returns, partner health insurance, joint parental rights) EQUIVALENT to those of a legitimate marriage.
Obama is keen to the fact that being gay or lesbian is not a choice; I still cannot believe that they're LOTS of people who believe the contrary. In addition to his other actions, he also supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that would protect people from being fired because of their sexual orientation, and he believes that it's not harmful for children to be around gay people. You've gotta hand it to him, for a heterosexual male, he's pretty damn enlightened. :-D
ECONOMY
As much as I would LOVE to have tax cuts, our nation is DEEEEEEEP in debt--I'm talking, TRILLIONS of dollars here! It just gets worse by the second, and WE'RE gonna be stuck with the bill along with our children and our children's children and so on. This Administration is infamous for its tax cuts that only benefit big corporations (AKA the people with the most income) but not middle class citizens. I agree with Obama's suggestion that Americans accept lower tax cuts in order to put money into Health Care and other programs.
Even though Hillary has attacked Obama for his support of nuclear technology, I believe that, if properly safeguarded against the risk of radioactive spills, then nuclear technology would benefit this country in reducing its dependency on foreign oil. I'm a big supporter of Hybrid technology and firmly believe that all car companies should jump on-board and make vehicles that run on your choice of gasoline or re-chargeable battery (not sure if I'm a big fan of Solar, Hydro, Electric cars).
HEALTH CARE
I think Obama put it best when he said, "Being poor in this country is hazardous to your health." I agree that all Americans should have affordable health care; I don't think we'll have the funds anytime soon for UNIVERSAL health care (like Canada), but I do love his idealism. Once upon a time, when we weren't so deep in debt, universal health care was a viable option, but now, the billion-dollar Prescription Drug industry would destroy any candidate who tried to cut their profits.
FOREIGN POLICY
By far, the biggest problem that people seem to have with Obama nowadays is his willingness to meet with hostile foreign leaders such as Kim Jong Il (North Korea) & Hugo Chavez (Venezuela). Once again, I find his idealism to be a breath of fresh air. At least he is making the attempt (which everyone else in Washington refuses to do) to reach out to these countries and just MAYBE, make them hate us a little bit less.
A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE
Although I'm not a woman (obviously), I am a firm believer in women's rights, specifically when it concerns their reproductive health. Like my friend, Katy, I agree that if you don't have a vagina, then when it comes to a woman's body, SHUT THE FUCK UP. Even though I'm definitely not PRO-ABORTION (what those Pro-Life supporters call us), I KNOW for a fact that if a woman doesn't want to give birth, she will find a way to prevent it, and unfortunately, not the safest way.
That's why it pisses me off that politicians like George Bush and Ron Paul (don't even get me started on HIM) actually want to reverse Roe v. Wade. What the FUCK?! That's a landmark courtcase for good reason. During the 1950s, when clinical abortions were illegal, women who were faced with unwanted pregnancies went to EXTREME measures in order to avoid ending up in a "home for unwed mothers." This included going to uncertified "doctors" off the street, shoving court hangers up their snooch, leaving crying infants in the local dumpster, or most commonly, working their bodies to the point where they'd have a miscarriage. And I GUARANTEE you, that if we outlawed abortion in this country, such cases would SKYROCKET--it'd be the Bad Old Days again. And we can't let that happen.
A VIABLE CANDIDATE
Whether Obama or Hillary wins the nomination, I will definitely be voting as a Democrat during this Presidential election. The reason why I've invested so much time and effort in Obama's campaign is so that our party has a better chance of winning. Hillary's gaining momentum now, but when people come out to the polls in November, the novelty factor will wear off. Honestly, do you think they'd vote for her if she had divorced Bill and was still Hillary Rodham? Think about it.
So, in closing, I just wanna stress how important this Presidential election (as well as the Primaries) are, and you should all get out there and vote. Don't just assume that the country is smart enough and that everyone else'll pick the right person for the job--just look at the past eight years. Need I say more? To all my peeps (Nicole, Jenna, Kyle, Celie, Donald, Jamee), Keep Fighting The Good Fight! And a very special thanks to Jai, our lovable Schocking Opinions editor, for sharing this website that tells you where the candidates stand on every issue (so check that out)!
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