Superdoopertrooperlooper Tuesday

Being a "Non-Resident Alien" in America I don't always feel that it is my place to voice my views of American Politics. Suffice to say that being from the UK I find that American opinions tend to be a little more right wing than I am used to. While I didn't think that it was my place as a foreigner to impose my opinions in a country where I am a guest, it does surprise me that people here tend to be pretty uninterested or uninformed about what is going on in their country. Teaching a class on current events to teenagers highlighted this for me.

Me: : "Ok, a real easy one to start, who is the president of the USA?"

Student: "Ehhh...Bush Washington?"

I was shocked originally until I watched what passes for news here, Local lies, rumors and hearsay as Roomdog used to call it, where every story is about an individual (or animal) in the local area or if something big is reported then it's "How does it affect your commute" I spent the rest of the year advertising the BBC News and begging the kids to watch it. I overheard this exchange in my class one day...

Student 1: "Why she so crazy about the news man, It's all she talk about"

Student 2: "She just really love the news man, she just love the news."

These two guys went back to writing their response to the role of America in Iraq or something similar. The point is that I have wondered why people find it difficult to get engaged in the political process, to become involved in that which can affect their lives. During this political primary season I have watched and read, listened (mainly to Randy who is all about Obama) and taken in the way the political process is reported here and have come to some conclusions.

At first I started with the network news. If you want to really understand anything, this is not the place to get your information. If you don't have any background information the news will not help. There is no mention of any ideology, manifesto or campaign promise, just of who had their haircut, what they ate today, who fell over or played the guitar. They might talk about poll points but they don't explain what any of this means. Instead they drag up what a candidate did in 1976 or where they went to school. It comes across like an episode of Access Hollywood, or worse TMZ. People this is not Brittney or Beniffer, this is your leadership!

Not finding what I needed there I turned to the Internet. You can find a great deal of information on the internet if you have the patience to look. I think you also have to be wary of who is sponsoring what is said. The adverts and sponsors make me nervous, why are these companies willing to spend money on these messages? So back to the TV I go and to the independent media like NPR and PBS where I like the reporting but have been so spoiled by the high pace of the other stations, I get bored and zone out.

Then I tried the Sunday morning political commentary shows like meet the press and Like It Is and all those ones. I like these shows and they can give you more information but I have a problem with the language. There are way too many metaphors and analogies going on here. There's a lot of mixing of metaphors and miss quoting of proverbs and I usually just feel as if I am intruding on someone else’s conversation. These shows can be a little elitist but if the alternative is Tyra interviewing the candidates, I know which I will choose.

Having taken all of this in using the supposedly "free" media here I make up my mind who I would like to win. Then I returned to my roots and to what my parents told me when I was little. "You have to look at the issue, talk about it and think about. Be suspicious of any message you get too often in the media, think why are they telling me this? Don't be afraid to support who you think represents your ideals and never be afraid to ask the hard questions or raise the difficult issues." Good advice which stays true after 25 years which became the basis of my current events class and the basis of who I will support for President.

Whatever you decide during this season the most important thing is to vote and I think to speak up for the kids who get to inherit what the next administration will leave behind. My dad was very strong on this..."People fought and died for those votes! If you don't take part you don't get a say." So this Tuesday please take the time to vote, and maybe you will speak up for those of us who can't.