What makes an American?

An american is undfined. Americans are not a skin color, a religion, certain ideal, a culture, or any other difinitive group of people. The beauty of America is in our individuality and our unique ideas and how all of those assets combined create a mix of people who are connected through their differences. An American has the same opportunity as their neighbors and has the same rights as the person walking down the street. An American should never be stereotyped because we are all so different and we all are given so many choices as to who we can become.

Decleration of Independence:

Declaration of Independence
When in the established government, it becomes necessary for a political change that such can positively affect the nation and our international reputation it is the duty of the educated people to enforce such change under any means. The offense at hand is the creation and maintenance of the law that states a citizen of the United States of America has a moral obligation and legal consent to voice their views at federal and state voting polls, as long as the individual is over eighteen-years of age. There is no justification for a voting age minimum so long as the voter is a qualified individual.
A basic exam containing both historical and current political query should immediately be established to allow any aged voter, so long as politically competent, to voice their views and influence our present and future government. The exam must be administered every two years, and it shall be mandatory to maintain political awareness through re-taking of the exam every four years.
The state government may determine the passing percentage for their residents and assessment style, though the exam must be administered by the national government.
We, the youth of the United States of America, come forward with our proposal to our federal government in hope to see an immediate response and an expedited modification to our voting age minimum.

Where do you see government in day to day life?

Street signs
electricity
water
school
bulidings
newspapers
trade
roads
cars
agriculture
artwork
grafitti
stores
police
ambulances
fire departments

2008 election issues

Environment: We, as a nation, must do more to protect our environment and to prevent future deteriation of our natural resources.

Energy: In order to prevent our economy from completly falling apart or our nation to not be absolutely dependent on foreign nations we should invest in new alternative and renewable energy sources.

Stem Cell Research: Stem cell research should be invested in and studied. At least susing aborted fetus' for research.

Federalist 10

The paper suggests that a group of individuals, a faction, inspired by a problem and motivated to fix said problem should be supressed by either removing the problem or by distracting them from the problem. Although I didn't entirely understand the paper I felt as though the information and the genral idea was clear; as the title sugests, a strong federal government will ensure a safer nation and stronger nation.

My Proposition PSA

My Perfect Party-- As of now... :)

An ideal political party in my eyes would be supported by a few general mindsets and based off of some simple and, in my eyes, moral codes.

All people deserve equal rights and equal opportunity. There is no reason why one individual should not be given the same chances as any other. All the amendments should be protected unfailingly by the government and the courts. Media may not be censored by the government, although standards would be mandatory. Standards by the government are only to be implemented to ensure health (in circumstances where this would apply) and to protect the youth (innapropriate language or visuals). A government is in place to simply govern the laws that are executed by the people. In my party, assuming all voters are qualified, we would believe in a true democracy 1 vote for a law will be 1 vote closer to implementing said law.

The general wellbeing of humanity should be our priority but not be our limits. Competition is essential for any thriving community or nation. Without competition there is no way to scale improvment and therefore no way to advance.

If you could register for any political party right now, which would it be?

If I were to register for a political party it would be the democratic part. In general my ideals coincide more consistently with the more liberal ideas. I am aware that my political ideas may not be fully matured or completely solidified because, frankly, I do not have enough knowledge on certain issues that would allow me to make educated decisions on specific politician's platforms. I do not think that we should even segregate ourselves and all of our values into two main parties.

PSA

On Ethan Thompson's blog: http://etthompson-government.blogspot.com/

It will be on my blog tomorrow :)

Response to PSAs We Watched

The PSAs we watched in class were mostly creative and unbiased. They tried to appeal to a younger generation of voters who may still be debating whether or not they want to or need to vote. As a teen that will just be missing the "voting age deadline" for this coming election, I am disappointed but I am also much more aware of the propaganda and ads I see in our media. The nice thing about the PSAs we saw was that I didn't notice any strongly urging the viewer to vote one way or the other, but the PSA just encouraged the act of voting which should be the most important. Although there wasn't any pushing for the voters to choose a specific side, most of the PSAs did seem to be slanted more to the left than anything, regardless, they were helpful and captivating.

Response to "Why Vote?" Discussion

It was clear that many people in the class have different opinions and all of those who shared were very passionate about those opinions. Initially, I felt that it would be a good idea to have a mandatory test or evaluation to determine political competency. As we continue to explore the topic as a class I feel less and less comfortable saying that any one person wouldn't be able to vote because of lack understanding of our government (even though I still do feel as though everyone SHOULD have a bare minimum of comprehension). It seems as though creating an exam could begin on positive note, but then may, upset older voters that don't feel like they need to prove themselves, be difficult to regulate, hard to determine "fairness", debatable answers, unfair for people who want to only vote on specific propositions etc. There seems to be far more perspective problems for the idea to easily be established. Voting is important, but it is also important that the voters are educated, confident, and opinionated citizens with all the facts they need to make helpful contributions to our nation.

Journal: would i vote if i were 18?

If I were 18, I would absolutely vote at this coming election. I have always felt that someone doesn't make an effort to make a change in an area important to them, they don't deserve to complain. If for no other reason than to protect and justify my future frustrations, I would vote. It is also important to know that i can affect some event during my lifetime or at least know I did the minimum to try.