Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: slimm50 on August 30, 2004, 04:21:13 PM
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Our son is a 17 y.o. high school senior taking Gov't/ Economics this year. Last night we were watching Hillary being interviewed by Tim Russert. Our son was only half listening. I nudged him and said "You should really start paying attention to this because for a Gov't/ Economics student, these are exciting times you're living in. You're going to be watching history unfold over the next 5 - 15 years as our political system changes continues to evolve." I really believe that. What we've been seeing since the 80s is a sea change in the way politics is waged in this country, and it ain't over, yet. I don't know if a viable third party will emerge, but things are definitely in flux, and the future of our political system is very uncertain, in my view.
Anyone have any thoughts along this line you'd like to share?
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my youngest son is 19
he tells me how his teachers slams the president in front of class and call it "education"
when their children are old enough to vote, politics will be just another 6am info commercial .... and voting will be done through the tv remote
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Hard to get the kids excited about this stuff. Mine range from 16 to 26. I guess it becomes more important when it starts to affect you more personally.
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seems to me, the only people who care are the long haired dirty hippies...at least my teachers try not to be completly biased.
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****... I wish I had hair. ;)
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im pretty politically active for a high school kid. Ive helped organize forums for local candidates, and currently have a LSU purple and gold Bush Cheney bumper sticker on the back of my nissan. http://www.geauxbush.com (http://www.geauxbush.com)
On to my tangent:
There is something I think that many people in this country could learn from the younger generation. There is a good friend of mine who is a total ultra-liberal. Im about as far right as you can go without stepping into the religious right. We disagree about EVERYTHING, and there have been some real shoving matches during the social studies classes we've had together for the past four years. But we both know where the line is drawn between politics and people. Even after the most heated of arguments, hes still a great friend, and we can shoot the bull like anyone else. Its a far cry from the political hatred I see from both sides inside the beltway.
Liberal-dominated areas in the nation call everyone from my region a bunch of rednecks... And we fire right back with a hippie slur or two. None of it is true, and Its a disgusting trend that I hope can be changed. As much as both sides disagree, the opposing side consists of Americans, and nothing less.
I have a feeling a lot of people dont really identify with anyone outside of their own political alignment these days, and its just not right.
Comment, flame, question....
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Originally posted by slimm50
Our son is a 17 y.o. high school senior taking Gov't/ Economics this year. Last night we were watching Hillary being interviewed by Tim Russert. Our son was only half listening. I nudged him and said "You should really start paying attention to this because for a Gov't/ Economics student, these are exciting times you're living in. You're going to be watching history unfold over the next 5 - 15 years as our political system changes continues to evolve." I really believe that. What we've been seeing since the 80s is a sea change in the way politics is waged in this country, and it ain't over, yet. I don't know if a viable third party will emerge, but things are definitely in flux, and the future of our political system is very uncertain, in my view.
Anyone have any thoughts along this line you'd like to share?
One of the biggest problems with our political system is that polls are pretty accurate, everyone knows they are accurate, and everyone is exposed to the pollsters results. I don’t think that the majority of the population believes that anyone other than a Democrat or Republican could ever win the presidency. A vote outside of these two parties is clearly a waste, and everyone knows it. Even if the majority of voters preferred a non Republocrat candidate, it would hard to imagine that they would ever have the confidence to vote for him or her. One would have to be a hugely popular non politician to ever stand a chance.
eskimo
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Well, the problem with that eskimo is that at the end of the day, Only one person wins, everyone else loses, regardless of ideals, morals or anything else.
You can actually break up the political spectrum into 20 well fit groups. But take a vote. At the end of the day, only one is right and will do what they want.
So we have the 2 party system. You vote for your favorite person in a primary based upon how you feel about someone to represent your party. Then you vote for your party.
The bad thing about this is that people don't realize that most of the power they have comes from primaries, not elections.
MT, you'd be surprised how involved most kids are. Now, how outspoken they are about it is something different. I know guys who will yell and scream at people. I also know guys that won't say anything until you press them. They would then say something really really intelligent and shut up the loudest of people.
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Originally posted by Jasta
im pretty politically active for a high school kid. Ive helped organize forums for local candidates, and currently have a LSU purple and gold Bush Cheney bumper sticker on the back of my nissan. http://www.geauxbush.com (http://www.geauxbush.com)
On to my tangent:
There is something I think that many people in this country could learn from the younger generation. There is a good friend of mine who is a total ultra-liberal. Im about as far right as you can go without stepping into the religious right. We disagree about EVERYTHING, and there have been some real shoving matches during the social studies classes we've had together for the past four years. But we both know where the line is drawn between politics and people. Even after the most heated of arguments, hes still a great friend, and we can shoot the bull like anyone else. Its a far cry from the political hatred I see from both sides inside the beltway.
Liberal-dominated areas in the nation call everyone from my region a bunch of rednecks... And we fire right back with a hippie slur or two. None of it is true, and Its a disgusting trend that I hope can be changed. As much as both sides disagree, the opposing side consists of Americans, and nothing less.
I have a feeling a lot of people dont really identify with anyone outside of their own political alignment these days, and its just not right.
Comment, flame, question....
Jasta, good for you and your friends, lib and con, alike. I'm trying to encourage our son to at least get interested in politics. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and will be an asset to his community, when he's older and will be taken more seriously than he is now. I know it's tough to be old enough to figure out what's going on, but no one takes you as seriously as they ought because of your age. But that'll change as you mature. Just keep plugging away. The things you learn today will someday pay big dividends.
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Good post Jasta.
Charon