Davidson Encourages Education and Expression

The power of individual voices could not be stressed enough in Sandy Davidson's discussion of politics and the current election. She expressed that in order to make a difference; people must both educate and mobilize themselves. She believes that taking an active role is the most powerful thing that Americans can do, and she is correct.

Large amounts of people have disconnected themselves from the government while harboring the belief that neither their opinions, nor their votes, truly matter. Many people are too apathetic to speak out or take the time to vote, because they don't believe that their vote can make a difference. They claim they don't "trust the government", or that no legislation on the national level effects them directly. These misconceptions are in part due to the fact that Americans today don't make is a priority to pay attention to what is going on, or educating themselves. Rather, they accept the status quo and go on with their daily lives.

Sandy Davidson told a story that depicted an specific occurrence of the polar opposite. She was nearly stopped from attending a political convention by a swarm of protesters who, in direct defense of their right to assemble and protest, have taken it upon themselves to make an opinion known. They don't want their neighbors and friends or brothers and sisters fighting for some unnamed cause. I too, would like to know what's really going on in Iraq. They aren't telling us anything! But these protesters have the right idea. They've kept themselves as aware as possible of the happenings in the war and realized that, in their minds, this simply wasn't going to fly. The troops, in their minds, should be back home. They showed no hesitation in making this opinion known.

This was the perfect example of American idealism that isn't taken advantage of by the public. We can have anything we want if we just ask hard enough, apparently. So why not go for it? The idea of democracy is that the people decide what is best for them. All it takes, however, is a few thousand disappointed folks who aren't happy with the way things are. Rather than taking action against this, however, they pout and stomp their feet and complain that they're powerless. Why not stomp your feet so that the dexters in charge can hear you, people?

If the "public" simply took a little time to keep track of what is going on, and learning the basic workings of their governmental system, they might have a little more faith in themselves as voters, as well as in the United States government as a whole.