Warning--What you are about to read really has no cohesiveness and is a mish mash of ideas that are currently running through my head....
Right now I'm sitting in my apartment watching CNN's coverage of the Presidential Forum being held at Columbia University this evening and I'm getting frustrated by the questions that the candidates are being asked as well as the answers that are being given. Perhaps, I should preface this blog post by saying what I've been doing in my classroom during the last week and half.
As a social studies teacher I've been trying to teach my 5th-8th graders about the election process. They had a summer assignment where they had to look up information on Senators Obama and McCain; where they stand on the major issues. We've now begun to look at all the issues and pick the candidates apart (as objectively as possible). In the last 4 days, I've watched Obama's acceptance speech from the Democratic National Convention 4 times, and McCain's accpectance speech 3 times (one more still to come tomorrow). I pretty much have the speeches memorized at this point in time!
One of the questions this evening, directed at Senator Obama, dealt with his reflections on 9/11. Where he was, what he was doing, and what would he have done if he was president. He response to what would he have done if he was president was very frustrating to me and I found myself talking to the TV like a crazy person. He mentioned that if he was president at the time he would've called for the people to volunteer (I don't have a problem with this, in fact I'm in favor of it) and he would've stopped our dependence on foreign oil right away. I find it very easy for Senator Obama, for any of us for that matter, say what we "would've done" after the fact...YOU ALREADY know what's going to happen so of course you'd do it differently. However, you really don't know what you'd do until you're put in the situation. I personally think that President Bush handled the 9/11 tragedy as best he could at the time. Do I agree with everything he's done since then, no of course not. But I felt he did what needed to be done at that moment in time.
I'll say it here just as I've told my students the past 7 days, I honestly don't know who I'm going to vote for yet. Part of me wishes I did know. Looking solely at their acceptance speeches McCain and Obama seem to agree, or at least have similar views, on many of the key issues. It's no wonder that the polls are showing them neck and neck right now. I almost wish that McCain and Obama would run on the same ticket--this way you'd get the best of both worlds. Both candidates stated in their acceptance speeches that they wanted to cross party lines--to create a government that worked together for the people. Why not then, make the unexpected, the brash decision, to come together to form a ticket that would truly encompass all of the views of the American people.
On a side note, in Obama's acceptance speech he said, "So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first." This is the one part of his speech that I really had issues, and it seems to be an insignificant part of his speech at that. But I truly do not believe that we ALL put our country first. If we all put our country first our country would not be in the position that it's in today. We would not have trillions of dollars of debt. We would not have families that are losing their homes right and left and are wondering how they are going to make ends meet at the end of the month. Our country would not be vulnerable to attack by various groups. We would not be bickering over which political party was better or which candidate has the most experience. The question would simply be, which candidate will do what's best for the country--which candidate has done nothing but put his or her country first.
Also in Obama's speech he stated this: "And when one of [McCain's] chief advisors - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners." A nation of whiners?" Now I don't think that we're in a "mental recession," but come on be honest with yourself, aren't we a nation of whiners?! When we don't get what we want, or when things are going poorly for us, what is the first thing that we do? We COMPLAIN!! Sure after we're done complaining and belly-aching we get up and try to fix it, but just look at what we're doing with all of these mortgage companies or airline companies that are having financial difficulties. The companies complain and they the government or other corporations step in to try and help them out. When my students get frustrated with an assignment that I've given them what is the first thing that they do? They whine about it to their parents, who in turn, come back to me and whine about the assignment that I've given their child, and well, isn't their some way that I could change the assignment to make it less stressful for them. Are YOU kidding me?
I believe that John McCain kept his acceptance speech very safe. He really didn't say anything that was too controversial. He didn't really attack Senator Obama. He just laid out what his record of service was and what he wanted to do should he become president. Many of my students remarked, after watching and analyzing both speeches, that while they preferred Obama, they liked John McCain's speech better because they felt like he was talking to them not over them--they could understand what McCain was saying and they liked that he wanted Americans to stand up and fight for their country and volunteer and help each other out.
This election period has just begun and I think that it'll be very interesting to see how things transpire over the next 50 some-odd days. Who will end up on top in this "divided nation?" We'll just have to wait and see.
