Why are WE so Liberal?

So after being in AP Government for the past few classes and starring off at the board across from my seat, I catch myself looking at the grid that shows that 138 of us (AP Gov students) fell into the bottom left quadrant of the political spectrum. I thought this was very interesting because like Mr. Gwaltney talked about in class, this does not represent America at all. In fact, a majority of our presidential candidates from the past as well as current day candidates are the exact opposite, upper right-ers. So i wondered, is this because we are not fully developed and clueless about what we believe, or is it that our generation is going to majorly change the future political world.
If we maintain these beliefs and all stay true to what we said in class, then it seems to me that the future will have drastic changes. What would our government be like if our president was from the bottom left quadrant? However, more importantly is why were so many of us down there to begin with. I guess the only explanation i can think of is that we socially are liberals (well at least i am.) Since i am not working and do not have to pay taxes, i do not really have experience with having the government suck away a large portion of my income. Therefore, sure lets have universal health-care and support the less fortunate with welfare and programs to benefit the needy. BUT...when the time comes for us to open our own pockets and fork up the cash, we might think otherwise. So economically, at our young age, we want all people be have equal opportunity and those who are poor and seem to be suffering we, as loving teenagers looking to make a better world, want to support them. Furthermore, when it comes to our morals and beliefs, a majority of us are for gay rights and pro-choice. I think we are born in a time where a lot of us want freedoms for all people (gay, straight, lesbian, pregnant, black, white), or at least i would hope so. This would support that fact that 138 out of I believe around 154 or so AP Gov students are left liberals.
All in all, I say it is great that we are liberal and want our government to support the needy and we want equal rights and to protect women, gays, etc... I believe that our government is not successful how it is, so why not bring about some change? I say lets see what happens when we try installing universal health care, a democratic pushed program. I say we should just VOTE so that those 138 of us don't go unheard. (I know we are not old enough yet, but when we are 18 i hope all of us do) :)

Gore For President, Guess Not

When asked if he would partake in the 2008 presidential elections, Al Gore said No. Despite his growth in popularity after making the well known film titled, "The Inconvenient Truth," and accomplishment of receiving the Nobel Piece Prize, Gore is no longer interested in running for president. He says he now has other interests, such as the fight to inform and bring about change in regards to dealing with global warming. I believe he has done an amazing job broadcasting the effects of Global Warming. Although it is not definite as to whether or not Global Warming is indeed true, a large part as to why i believe in it has to do with Al Gore. His movie was an awakening and brought about a lot of change in my household. My dad told a bunch of people about the movie, changed all of our lights to fluorescent and over all is more aware of the environment. Al Gore brought a topic that was slowly gaining interest to life by attaching his well known face to it. Basically, people already knew him from when he ran for President, so they trusted in what he was saying. However, in regards to running for President, in a poll taken it was determined that, "(people) asked if they would like to see Gore run for president in 2008, people said no by a margin of 54 percent to 41 percent, according to the Gallup Poll, about the same as in March, when people opposed his running by 57 percent to 38 percent (2)" Obviously he has gained some popularity, but not tremendously. I think that his decision to not run for President was a good one. He is doing an excellent job promoting saving the earth and catering to our environment. His achievement in receiving the Nobel Piece Prize is amazing, however, it does not immediately make him eligible to be the next President.

So, Why Don't We Vote??

So, it's pretty obvious that a large portion of eligible voters fail to represent themselves in the polls, but the real question is why? Why don't people go out and just vote? I mean it probably takes only an hour out of their lives. If they live in a country that exists for and by the people, then why do so many people fail to make it to the polls. In a recent article by Ariel Alexovic titled, " 2006 Voter Analysis," she stated, The 24-page analysis highlighted the poor turnout of youth voters — those ages 18 to 29 made up about 20 percent of the eligible voting population but only 10 percent of voters" (1). This shocked me because they are numbers regarding us, the youth. Furthermore, this article went to explain that the people voting are most commonly white, upper class males. If we want to hear more voices besides those who are "white, male, and in power," then more people who are part of minorities need to vote. Especially those who are young and are the future of America.

However, in response to my first question, Why don't we vote? Michael Slater, deputy director of Project Vote, addressed this in the article by saying:“It’s fair to say that people are engaged in politics when politics engage their interests, and when we see large sections stay out of politics, it means politics are not speaking to their issues and values” (2.) Basically, instead of blaming the people, like we almost always do, he is blaming politics. I found this fascinating because it is very true. If for example the presidential candidates talked about topics that interested more people, then more people would be inclined to make and stand and vote. However, if nothing appeals to them or their circumstances, they will not bother to waste their hour of their life to go and vote. They need to have passion of topics and candidates in order to go out and make the difference, or cast their vote. So, i definitely agree with Michael Slater when he said that "politics aren't speaking to their issues and values."

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/2006-voter-analysis/

Top Political Values

For the past few classes we have been discussing political values and morals. I thought it was fascinating how we rated the fourteen political values on the board from our most important to our least important. Personally, I believe that having tolerance towards others is most important. Take what happened in Germany in World War II for example. Hitler's anti-semitism caused the death of millions of Jewish people. I know that is taking it to the extreme, but basically being open and accepting to others opinions is extremely important. We need to realize that even though we might think we know everything, we really do not. It is important to stay open minded and accept the beliefs of others. That is how we bring about change. By hearing what others have to say and seeing what their experience in life has taught them, we can evolve as a community and grow. When we close ourselves off and judge others we are really limiting our own capacity of knowledge. Furthermore, i also agree that having respect to the law and not to the individual is very important. The laws were created by many people and with the mindset that our nation is to be a democratic one made by the people and for the people. They created laws we need to follow in order to maintain a working government. If we follow the individual instead of the law, we are leaving ourselves open to totalitarian governments and not following through with our belief in a democracy. Although the president has power, the system of checks and balances keep his power in order with the rest of the branches of government. When we listen to people instead of the law, dictators may rise up and hold too much power. Lastly, i believe in making sure our justice system works! If people are not punished for certain actions, then they have no reason to stop doing them. There needs to be a disincentive to killing, stealing, littering. Basically, a government needs many aspects in order to run smoothly. However, i firmly believe that some of the most important are tolerance towards others, focus on law verses individual, and justice.