Rocking the Vote
In 2004, I voted for John Kerry. I was twenty and proud to be voting in my first presidential election but when I checked the boxes on the absentee ballot that my parents had mailed to my college dorm room, I knew little more about the candidates than their first and last names. I voted for the Democrat ticket because, my parents did, and that’s just who we voted for.
I am avid reader and news junkie sometimes find it hard to find the hours in the day to read everything there is I want to read. From the Op-Ed section to the latest headlines from Washington and reading for work to reading for pleasure, there aren’t enough hours in the day to take in everything I want to take in. Sometimes, I scan the headlines on my Google news page to know enough about the day’s events in case I get caught in a conversation in an elevator at work.
Though I’ve never taken to a strong political leaning - and often considering myself an independent-vote-for-the-person-not-for-the-party type - I’m not going to dent the fact that I secretly enjoy controversy. I take great enthusiasm in a friendly debate and I like to argue about insignificant trivia, evident from the time in fifth grade when I gathered my neighborhood friends to hold a mock trial over whether or not Santa Claus was real (though I had known the truth for years, I thought I had a strong enough argument. Our parents testified; I lost the case).
I might not be a political pundit and I admit, it wasn’t too long ago that I didn’t even know who Rachel Maddow was or what she stood for but if the past presidential election taught me anything it’s that the most important politics to understand are your own. Reading headlines and watching CNN American Morning is an adequate, if not good way to stay informed abut what’s going on in your world – because we can’t be everywhere at once.
Even though I consider it impossible to know and agree with everything about every candidate, I’m confident that gone are the days when I vote for the guy (or gal! Go Hillary!) that the person next to me did. Might I have voted for John Kerry in 2004 if my parents hadn’t gently suggested that I did? Maybe I would have. Then again, maybe I wouldn’t have.
How do you stay informed about politics? Is it an important part of your life? Do you vote for the same party as your parents or significant other by default?
June 17th, 2009 at 7:26 am
I think voting for someone because your parents or partner do is ridiculous. Politics can be boring but it’s important to at least try to keep somewhat up to date.Browsing a news site to keep up to date doesn’t take long and you find out interesting things while you do it! I’m in Australia, and voting is compulsory here, so uninformed voting can be much more dangerous if people vote like that.
I totally agree with voting for the person and not the party. People have so many different opinions you can’t just vote for someone because they’re the democrat or republican or whatever. What if you disagree with them on an issue that’s important to you?
June 17th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Now that its not election time, sadly most of my information comes from Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert and Bill Maher.
I really like Maher, I think we would be pretty good friends in real life.
And voting for the person not the party is a good rule but honestly, I think they go hand in hand. I usually dont approve of somebodys beliefs unless they are aligned to the left- therefore I don’t see myself voting for a “person” instead of a party.
June 17th, 2009 at 9:31 am
I read the following online:
CNN.com - http://www.cnn.com
Google news - http://news.google.com
I read the following offline news commentary magazine:
Economist - http://www.economist.com/
When I drive to and from work, I also sometimes listen to NPR on the radio (The World, All Things Considered, This American Life).
I don’t consider myself highly informed, but I like to at least keep up with general trends in the world.
June 17th, 2009 at 9:32 am
I’m a democrat and my parents (well, all of my extended family save two cousins) and my husband and his family are all republicans. Once I was old enough to understand what the parties stood for I made the decision to break away from my family and vote with my conscience. I have a ton of respect for those who break away from voting along “family lines” and think for themselves — because I know it can cause some family drama!!
As for my news I tend to become horribly bored with political blogs. I watch the news and read cnn.com. During election years I pay more attention.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
The 2008 election was the first election I was able to vote and I was a bit TOO informed. My TV was always on MSNBC and it was during this time, that I fell in love with Jon Stewar & Stephen Colbert.
Even though me and my parents are Democrats (and proud of it!) we still disagree on some social issues and were rooting for different candidates during the primaries. (I was Team Hillary).
So I don’t rely on my parents to sway me one way or the other but I do go to them for their opinions and thoughts.
June 17th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
I’ve been a political dork for a long time. It will mean nothing for the bulk of our readers, who are American, but when I was 12-13 years old, my friends and I did tape recordings of what we called “Political Funnies”, which involved skits between our then PM, Jean Chretien (me) and the Reform party leader, Preston Manning.
I also watched a lot of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I’m sure that comes as no surprise.
I vote similar to my parents, but not exactly the same. It is a little different in Canada where we have more than two viable parties.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
One word: apathy
June 17th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I stay informed by reading cnn.com (and sometimes huffington post and politico), watching The Young Turks, and also watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann (sometimes Stewart and Colbert). Politics for me is serious business, but I dedicate a lot of my time to it because I think it’s fascinating and actually a lot of fun. I’ve gone through more apathetic times–i.e. after I voted for Kerry in my first ever Presidential election and he lost. But, I’ve been pretty hardcore for the last year.
My parents are independents, moderates, and I’m pretty hardcore Democrat. I’m not a total party person, but it is pretty rare that I vote for a Republican because I am very liberal, which you could probably guess from my news sources.
I wish I could find more people in my real life or even in my online life that I could talk about this stuff with, because as it is, I always know way more about politics than the people in my life and I just overwhelm every conversation even when I try not to.
June 18th, 2009 at 1:44 am
I stay informed by staying interested. I grew up in a family where politics was a regular part of our dinner table discussions, and I have a hard time imagining a life where politics aren’t in some way part of my everyday life. I read a lot of newspapers, I follow a lot of political blogs, and I have an unholy addiction to tumblr, which supplies a lot of the debates I’ve been missing out on since I moved away from home.
If you don’t care, it’s easy not to stay informed. If you do, it’s impossible not to be informed.
June 18th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I’ve voted in every election ever since I turned 18 (Canada y’all). I took a political science course and am just genuinely interested in the whole system.
My dad and I talk politics a lot and disagree on a lot too. Then again I love debating so it’s all good.
I don’t vote the same way as my parents because I don’t necessarily think that what is good for their generation is good for MY generation and that’s the main difference in voters.