I am not one to get into politics much. On Wednesday night I was flipping through channels and turned the debate on because some of my favorite comedy sitcoms were not on. Immediately, I was intrigued and watched the whole debate. In the past Romney hasn't had the best rep for public speeches. A lightbulb switch went off on Wednesday as Romney spoke with confidence and power. He stood his ground the whole night, as Obama took a more "cautious" approach, which wasn't the best game plan.
After the debate, a CBS poll of 523 uncommitted voters were in favor of Romney with 46% to Obama with 22%. (The rest thought it was a tie). To read more click hereThis debate could be a game changer for the Romney campaign as elections come closer and closer. What do you think? Did Obama do a good job at the debate? Did Romney do better? All comments are appreciated and welcomed. Watch the video to see highlights of the debate.
After having an "online" discussion on An American Studies post by Mr. Bolos, a comment that Mr. O'Connor posted really got me thinking: how do biracial americans identify?" In 2010 A woman named Nikki Khana did a study that answered this exact question. In the study 40 people were asked, which race (black or white) they identified with--the results were quite surprising. Khana said that, "we [found] that biracial respondents pass as black to fit in with black peers in adolescence (especially since many claim that whites reject them), to avoid a white stigmatized identity, and, in the post–civil rights era of affirmative action, to obtain advantages and opportunities sometimes available to them if they are black (e.g., educational and employment opportunities, college financial aid/scholarships)". To read more, click here.
A very prominent example of Khana's findings is president Barack Obama. He is biracial and identifies as black. Obama is the nation's first black president, which has been used greatly to his advantage, especially in his campaign. Many African Americans wanted to identify with a man of color. When many people think of Obama, they think of a "black" president. But why not also a white president? He is indeed as much white as black. To read more about Obama and race, click here. If I were to guess about which is more commonly the identified race, I would have thought biracial americans would identify white. America has been faced with civil rights and segregation, so I would want to identify as white because there are still some racial stereotypes out there. One Yale research study concluded that, "Media have divided the working class and stereotyped young African-American males as gangsters or drug dealers." As a result, the media has crushed youths' prospects for future employment and advancement. The media has focused on the negative aspects of the black community. Some examples are, engaging in drug use, criminal activity and welfare abuse. What do you think? If you were biracial, who would you identify with? All comments are welcome
As the 2012 election comes closer, television has been flooded with advertisements to persuade voters to vote for a specific candidate, especially Mitt Romney. According to The New York Post, some "Nonprofit groups have spent at least $65 million on television advertising, almost all of it against President Obama or in support of Mitt Romney". A question everybody should be asking themselves is: why should they spend all the money when there is less than a 50% voter turnout?
Alexis de Tocqueville, a french political thinker best known for his "Democracy in America" writings, examined the idea of a small voting turnout in America and said, " [i]t is difficult to force a man out of himself and get him to take an interest in the affairs of the whole state, for he has little understanding of the way in which the fate of the state can influence his own lot". To read more click here The citizens like the one described above need to stop thinking so concretely about their own lives and should consider how they want their country run just like how the determine how they live their lives.
The young americans can sway this election dramatically. In 2008, Obama's victory was very much credited to the 18-24 year olds as they voted 67% for Obama and 33% for McCain. This years election could go either way if everyone voted and took the initiative to make a small stand in how they want their country to be run. For all the under 18 year olds out there, would you vote if you could?
