Well I did it I wrote an article for the MSC paper. I am going to copy what I wrote at the bottom.....
As you read you will see I was not promoting Sen. Obama. I will submit other opinion peices in the future....for now I thought it wise just to get people interested.
Where is the Interest?
By: Billie Zahir
You cannot read the paper, get on the computer or watch television without being aware that the political battle for president is going on. I, like no other time before in my life, interested in the direction that our country is going and who I believe will take us in that direction. Even though I have made my selection, my personal beliefs are not at issue here. Instead I am concerned that we are not seeing more political involvement on campus, despite the upheaval of the times we live in. What I want this article to address is the fact that there are clear signs that we are not seeing more political involvement on campus.
I am not talking about just talking about what is either right or wrong with this country, I am talking about exploring and standing up for your political views and supporting the path you believe that needs to be taken to get there in the form of supporting either a party or person who represents your views.
In all fairness I believe it is not a conscious decision on the part of each one of the campus student body members. I believe the “it is someone else’s problem” attitude is because in part we live in such an apathetic society. While it is true that people of different ages attend MSC, the majority of the students are under the age of 35. We are the generation that missed the times when participating in the political process was a given for everyone. We do not remember the times when people had to fight for the right to vote. We as a general rule do not treasure our privilege to vote like past generations did.
Another possible reason for the apathy that you see is the fact that politics seems complicated and time consuming. I am sure it seems daunting to busy individuals like us. After all there is only 24 hours in a day and after you budget your time between class, studying, work, family and friends, it is hard to find the time to spare for yourself and sleep… much less time for what presidential hopefuls have to offer and take the time to actively support them.
The worse thing we could do is do is continue on the path we are now on. We have a duty to future generations to preserve our democracy by taking part in the process. Some things that you can do is express interest in The Young Democrats or Macon State Republicans, student recognized organizations that are available to students at MSC. As it stands right now neither club has members. You can also take some time and surf the web to find out what the presidential candidates’ background and voting history is. You can go to political blogs to see what some other’s viewpoints are. If you are really passionate about the person you decided to back you can find other groups who share your beliefs and volunteer to help get them elected. In the very least you should make a point to gather enough information to be willing to vote.
We need to get interested. What we face in the world is not someone else’s problem…it is our problem. The sooner we accept the responsibility of being part of the democracy that we enjoy the benefits from the sooner we can work together to find a solution. It is worth your time and attention.
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