Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Elections
Well now that primaries are in action a question as come up. Does the two political parties of rep. and dem. hinder the choice that the voter chooses, and if so is it an unknown bias? And what determines a voter to choose somehting that involves an issue, is it the commericals, is it the piont of view of their parents, or is it persuaded by their friends?
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2 comments:
It seems to me that up until this election (disclaimer: since i haven't been able to vote before now, i never really focused on the primaries), people seem to have been identifying more with a party rather than a candidate. I dont know if this is an unknown bias, but I think that it does impact the result because I think people should vote for the candidate they like best, not just follow "their" party.
I think the influence comes from everywhere; personally, I follow my dad more and continually fight with my mom, and even more so with my grandmother*. However, many of my friends are either totally not interested in politics, or almost obsessed. I bunch of times I'll fight with my friends and even my boyfriend because they are conservative, merely because their parents are. They don't understand the implications of just following the consensus that they are primarily involved in.
*she doesn't want me to even consider going to CU since its in Boulder. And you never know about those danged liberals....=)
I do remember from History that President Washington actually advised against political parties because it would divide the country and in many ways, polarize politics. In a way the two party system does hinder us in making a clear and honest decision. Because the two parties have become so polarized, the issues themselves have become black and white and the voters will most likely approach the issues through such a lens.
I myself do not like the political advertisements, and neither do many of my friends. Based off of consensus, I honestly don't believe the advertisements work as well as some think. The fact is that so many voters are loyal to their party that they will not be swayed by anything, no matter what. Don't get me wrong, the advertisements get the word out to the people, but they would most likely only affect those that are unsure, which does contain many current Americans. However, compared to the number of loyal party goers, the number on "moderates" or unsure voters is quite slim.
As for our parents and our friends, that is actually very hard to say. I myself gained many of my own political opinions from my Dad, but created a few for myself. But some kids are the complete opposite of their parents. I honestly think that what affects our political positions the most is our personality, the rest is just filler.
Sorry, that was a lot...
Rick Andrews
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