Political parties. A political party can be defined as "a group of persons organized for the purpose of directing the policies of a government," according the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. I think of political parties as large groups of people that share the exact same ideals as men that were born centuries ago. How will new ideas be created and the government be reformed if the same ideals are presented every term? Are the propositions truly tweaked enough every four years to create diversity in the elections? Another point I would like to make is that some people have ethics and ideals that are similar to both the Republican party and the Democratic party, yet fit neither. Let us pretend that I oppose abortion, but oppose the death penalty as well. I, then, would probably register as neither a Democrat nor a Republican. When would I get a chance to vote? I would not be able to vote in the primaries, which seriously decreases my choices in the official election. How about the Independent parties? Why do they never seem to gain substantial support? The answer lies in the legacy. Just as parents like to teach their children which religion is true, which food is healthy and which universities to go to, they also like to teach their children about ethics and ideals. In later years, similarities in ethics and ideals can lead to similarities in political views and parties. How many more years will go by before politics adjust to today's society?
Some laws are just frustrating. Have you ever found a law that prevents you from doing something great, just to prevent other people from doing something harmful? Or perhaps you simply want to host a spaghetti dinner to raise funds for a local charity, like my Civic Responsibility class is attempting. Even though our school's Key Club is allowed to have a spaghetti dinner for the same reason, we are banned from the kitchen. Every two years my school hosts an "All-Night Party," during which all high school students are bused between the school and various recreational venues all night long. However, when our Civic Responsibility class suggested a similar activity, but only with seniors and not leaving the school, we were again rejected.We also tried to pull together a Varsity Basketball vs. high school teachers game, but again, it is against the law. The reasoning for all of these failures? There is no reason, except that it is not allowed. I believe that some laws should be created as case-based procedures that will allow some activities and deny others depending on the circumstances. Or maybe some institutions, like schools, should worry more about the function it is meant to provide than the potential lawsuits it can prevent.
My new favorite thing in the economy is the start of buying "atmosphere" with your product or service. Last weekend I decided to eat at the Melting Pot, a restaurant chain that serves multiple types of fondue. The prices: outrageous. How much would you pay for a few cubes of bread, some celery, carrots, and melted cheese? If you are going to the Melting Pot, about $9 a person, and that's sharing the cheese! The truth is, you are paying for the atmosphere. You are paying for the fancy convection heater for the cheese on your table, the intricately designed layout and the pretty lamps. Industry knows that you would not pay a lot of money for food at home, but you would to go somewhere fancy. Another great example of atmosphere is the Ipod. Right now, a 16GB Ipod Nano is priced at $199 and the 8GB Ipod Touch is $229. Why is it $30 more for half the function? Simple: the Ipod Touch has atmosphere. Nice, touchable atmosphere. Everyone knows that you buy an Ipod to use it for storage of songs, music, and video, and so does Apple. Apple also knows that until something new and innovative like a 3D video-projecting Ipod is invented, their products can only change in atmosphere and not function. All of our economy is like this. Until something new is invented, companies will just make minuscule changes to the products we already have to make us want new products that perform the same function.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I think our government and economy is stuck in the past. We keep using the same ideas to perform the same tasks, and we're getting nowhere. How does engineering fit in? Engineers are the creative, inventive people that help us get out of our technological and social ruts. Today's students must take it upon themselves to learn the skills necessary to instigate changes in our world. I want to be the catalyst to our nation's evolution.
6 comments:
This was very though provoking! Did your school not give you ANY reason? They must have pointed to some rule or law. I am wondering if it is a school policy or a law. Those are different of course.
Very interesting, though I have a few points for you to think about.
(not necessarily disagreeing with anything either)
"Let us pretend that I oppose abortion, but oppose the death penalty as well. I, then, would probably register as neither a Democrat nor a Republican. When would I get a chance to vote?"
-While this has far too much truth to it, and its rare to find anyone that fits fully into either category, the issues presented by the "traditional definition" of each party are the most significant policies that affect an election. There is a ludicrous percentage of the population that will vote entirely on how you stand on abortion, gay marriage, immigration, and the death penalty to name a few. This is a flawed system, but its flawed because of the people, not necessarily the system itself. This results in candidates projecting themselves based off of how the greatest number of voters would like to see them, rather than how they are.
" In later years, similarities in ethics and ideals can lead to similarities in political views and parties. How many more years will go by before politics adjust to today's society?"
-I could be wrong, but I fully believe that this nation has far too many people for our belief structure to ever line up and unite entirely. There are too many factors that induce remarkably different ideals in people such as religion, income, education level, and location. While people on a whole agree about most things, most people are so dead set on how they feel about the big issues (aborton, etc) that they are unlikely to sway from that view.
"There is no reason, except that it is not allowed."
-Welcome to the world of security theater. Schools have become increasingly tight on security during our generation. The sad truth of it is these are more for the illusion of security to make people feel like their kids are safe, than actual security. If only this was only a school thing. Sadly this is something you will discover happens all the time, everywhere. Oh, and be sure not to bring over 3 oz of liquid on a plane. Propose making a class project to try to create some form of explosive using 3 oz of any liquid. Its quite impossible, but the closest you can get requires a substantial amount of lab gear (I think you might be a bit suspicious if someone pulled a gas mask out on a plane to do some science experiment...).
-As far as the economy section goes, theres really only one thing I'll throw at you from this. When you live in a world where you have everything you "need" relatively cheap, what are you going to spend your money on? Far too many people work jobs they hate to afford stuff they don't need.
On the whole, it was well written and an interesting read. I am sadly disappointed to see the submission time before 7:59 am the day it was due though. That time will come.. :)
Nice job! You're blog flows and is easy to read yet maintains a point and is persuasive. I agree with you on a lot of premises, including your comments on the economy about paying for the 'environment'. I think this is a capitalistic and ingenius idea. If you can make people pay more to have a Starbucks coffee instead of Seattle's Best, you have power as long as your logo maintains its prestige. If you think about it, when you wear an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt, you are paying to advertise for them. Backwards isn't it? Sure, maybe it's strange but it's ingenius.
I like your comments on political parties, but I don't think they are a negative thing. I think we all need to be open minded and establish an equal balance of our opinions, but I have found that to convince someone you sometimes need to be fervent about your opinions. I think we do this by choosing a radical right or left, although none of us are honestly ALL republican or ALL democratic.
Last, I love how you started your blog! Not only do many people try to conceal their faults, but you start off with yours! Honestly it's intimidating! If you aren't afraid of your faults, then that will definitely propel you in life.
Keep it up!
Sarah writes, "although none of us are honestly ALL republican or ALL democratic." Clearly she hasn't met my father.
As a lawyer, I am interested in your comments about potential lawsuits. On one side, you have the argument that fear of lawsuits causes people to be overly cautious, to decide against exploring new opportunities. On the other side, you have the argument that if someone is injured because another person did something that wasn't safe, the injured person should be able to recover enough to pay their medical bills, lost time from work, etc. Do you have any ideas how you might reach a compromise?
pretty sweet
i pod touches are sweet
they are all touchy
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