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.
