Okay #1 the Sarah Palin rally was so amazing. I'm not saying I'm a McCain fan but actually being at the rally was so, so neat. Having a press pass probably had a lot to do with this...but I think I discovered something incredibly important at that rally: I absolutely love taking photos of real news happening in the moment. As a high school journalist I have never had an opportunity like that before. I am #1 incredibly lucky and #2 so grateful that I could experience that from a news stand point. It. was. incredible. This picture on the right shows just how close the press are really allowed to get: pretty darn close!!!
The electoral college...Do I think we should abolish it? Absolutely not. Do I think it's fair? No, not completely, but really what is? I understand the flaws (at least I think I do after our discussion today in government class and after doing the reading from the oh-so-unbiased Ronald Dahl) of the Electoral College...and how things can go awry (election of 2000--poor Gore), but I don't necessarily think any major changes need to be made to it. I think we should hold electors accountable for their vote. If the popular vote wants the Republican candidate, they should honor the opinion of the people and cast their representative vote in that manner. I think most electors do cast their vote in this way, or at least I certainly hope they would...
What I've learned about this whole political process, from going to the Obama and Palin rallies, hearing Congressman Wittman speak, and being visited by Mrs. Stimpson, is that I want to be involved. I don't think I have it in me to sit still with all of this political involvement going on around me. I can't bear to not get my hands dirty with it all. Sure, it's easy to write off politics and say it's all crap and yadda yadda and it doesn't get anything accomplished, but really that isn't the solution. It's not okay to not vote. It's not okay to sit at home and not get involved. It's not okay to be indifferent. While I must admit I told a peer of mine that I "didn't really have an opinion" between the two candidates, I will say that I am more than willing to avoid having someone else's beliefs shoved down my throat... I do have opinions, I just don't think I need to always tell people. It's not that I'm shy about saying my opinion (clearly), but sometimes it's just not worth the headache. This is the first election where I've demanded that both of my parents go out and vote. That they have to pick a candidate, even if they don't identify with one on every single issue. I have learned from Government class that it's so terribly important to do these things: not having an opinion or just not caring won't cut it.
More Palin Rally Pics!
3 comments:
You got a press pass???! How did you get this?! You are so lucky! I was in the front but I looked back and saw where media were up on that stand, and I thought to myself "man I wish there was a way I was up there with a pass!" Nice pictures!
Great pictures. I had not seen that shirt before what a crack up!
what an experience for you I expect to see your reporting in the big time in about 5 years. What a great blog
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