Point: From the people who brought you 6 minute abs, it's 10 minute goverment!
Before I get on my soapbox today, we at Point vs. Point would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the victims and the families of the tragedy in the pacific rim. We hope and pray for a speedy rescue and recovery effort. As surfers, both paul and I have some small affinity for the area. I have never traveled there but I have friends who have spent time in the region and have nothing but the nicest things to say of the people that live there and have been affected, indeed they are some of the kindest, most generous people on earth. If you would like to donate money to the disaster relief effort www.state.gov has information on reputable charities as does www.amazon.com.
On to less important things.
Why are there more people who care how Randy Johnson pitches against switch hitters in Camden Yards than there are people who care about where their senators stood in the last vote? Why is it that more people can name all twelve players on their local basketball team than came name their representatives in congress? Who do you know that could name all 9 Supreme Court justices? Who do you know that can name the 8 teams that make up the AFC North and East? Why do more people choose to watch ESPN as opposed to C-SPAN? Okay scratch that last one, C-SPAN is not much more then a cure for insomnia.
Why don't more people care about their government? Do these people care about having a job? Do they care about being able afford to send their kids to college?What about being able to retire before they are eighty? Will new immigration laws affect them in anyway? Abortion? Hello? Is this thing on?
Here's the point, I wish more people my age would get informed. Not even involved, just informed. I'm not looking for everyone to drop what they are doing and turn to a life of public service, I just wish that people would take even ten minutes out of their day to see what's going on with our government. Even ten minutes a week would be cool. The payoff is that the next time you vote with your head held high. Not because it's who your parents, or significant other voted for, not because he/she is incumbent so they must know what they are doing, not because he/she is a democrat or a republican so they must think the same way you do, and not because his/her name looks cool because it forms a palindrome. I'm only speaking from experience here. I started voting when I was 18 and I have definitely been guilty of everything listed above at one point or another in my life. I think I even voted ABBA to city selectman.
Vote because you believe in something. Vote because you don't believe in something. But vote with conviction in your beliefs and because you want your voice to be heard.
Let me point out that as much as it may sound like it I'm not trying to ride in on a high horse. I don't event know how to ride. I had to look up who the Representative for my borough was. I knew Hillary was my Senator because she is sexy. Well SHE'S not actually sexy but to the media the story of her being senator is sexy. I'd like to take time right here to absolutely clarify that I don't think that Hillary is sexy. Just her story. To the media. Really.
My other Senator is Charles Schumer which I actually did know because, well I don't actually get out that much.
Over the holiday I spent some time with my 19 year-old cousin. I took a swing at pouring on some of the self-righteousness that I just let loose above. He took it like any 19 year old would have. He gave me the "whatever" look and brushed it off as though I was a geek. He didn't actually use those words because I'm a lot bigger than him and have been known on occasion to ummmmm forcibly adjust his perspective but I knew enough to know what he was thinking. Maybe it's what I thought at 19, but as I'm getting older I realize that a lot of geeky things are actually pretty cool which I guess is my ulterior motive to getting more people involved.
But not C-SPAN...that still blows.
chris.
On to less important things.
Why are there more people who care how Randy Johnson pitches against switch hitters in Camden Yards than there are people who care about where their senators stood in the last vote? Why is it that more people can name all twelve players on their local basketball team than came name their representatives in congress? Who do you know that could name all 9 Supreme Court justices? Who do you know that can name the 8 teams that make up the AFC North and East? Why do more people choose to watch ESPN as opposed to C-SPAN? Okay scratch that last one, C-SPAN is not much more then a cure for insomnia.
Why don't more people care about their government? Do these people care about having a job? Do they care about being able afford to send their kids to college?What about being able to retire before they are eighty? Will new immigration laws affect them in anyway? Abortion? Hello? Is this thing on?
Here's the point, I wish more people my age would get informed. Not even involved, just informed. I'm not looking for everyone to drop what they are doing and turn to a life of public service, I just wish that people would take even ten minutes out of their day to see what's going on with our government. Even ten minutes a week would be cool. The payoff is that the next time you vote with your head held high. Not because it's who your parents, or significant other voted for, not because he/she is incumbent so they must know what they are doing, not because he/she is a democrat or a republican so they must think the same way you do, and not because his/her name looks cool because it forms a palindrome. I'm only speaking from experience here. I started voting when I was 18 and I have definitely been guilty of everything listed above at one point or another in my life. I think I even voted ABBA to city selectman.
Vote because you believe in something. Vote because you don't believe in something. But vote with conviction in your beliefs and because you want your voice to be heard.
Let me point out that as much as it may sound like it I'm not trying to ride in on a high horse. I don't event know how to ride. I had to look up who the Representative for my borough was. I knew Hillary was my Senator because she is sexy. Well SHE'S not actually sexy but to the media the story of her being senator is sexy. I'd like to take time right here to absolutely clarify that I don't think that Hillary is sexy. Just her story. To the media. Really.
My other Senator is Charles Schumer which I actually did know because, well I don't actually get out that much.
Over the holiday I spent some time with my 19 year-old cousin. I took a swing at pouring on some of the self-righteousness that I just let loose above. He took it like any 19 year old would have. He gave me the "whatever" look and brushed it off as though I was a geek. He didn't actually use those words because I'm a lot bigger than him and have been known on occasion to ummmmm forcibly adjust his perspective but I knew enough to know what he was thinking. Maybe it's what I thought at 19, but as I'm getting older I realize that a lot of geeky things are actually pretty cool which I guess is my ulterior motive to getting more people involved.
But not C-SPAN...that still blows.
chris.
posted by paul at 2:35 PM
2 Comments:
On January 2nd Chris made this statement:
"Here's the point, I wish more people my age would get informed."
I couldn't agree more. Once one accepts this and decides to become informed the question becomes: Who do you trust?
Sources are everywhere. Opinions are everywhere. Facts are everwhere. Which ones do you trust? Perhaps more importantly, why do you trust these these sources?
Regarding trust and truth, a good book to read is "The Origins of Virtue" by Matt Ridley. Closely linked to the concept of trust and touched on in the aforementioned book is the concept of the Social Contract.
You may have heard of the Wason Test. It is a fairly frustrating problem involving social contracts. An interesting link to The Wason Test can be found at:
http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/nikolas.lloyd/games/wason.html
My point is that once people realize the importance of being informed, the problem for many, becomes trust. Who do you trust? Why is it that you trust them? Afterall, evolution seems to imply that the brain was "shaped" not for truth but for survival. Now that we have figured out (more or less) how to survive, could it be that the brain is evolving towards reciprocity, truth and trust?
Vote because you believe in something. Vote because you don't believe in something. But vote with conviction in your beliefs and because you want your voice to be heard.
did i log onto blog.mtv.com???
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