Is anyone else sick of hearing about the election? I had a subject come to the lab on the afternoon of election day with an 'I voted' sticker on his chest. While I think it's great that he voted, my study was being conducted among adolescents and this boy was no older than 14. So I asked some questions. OK, the main reason we got into the conversation is because someone double booked the room I was supposed to be using, so I was waiting in the hall with this kid and I figured talking would be better than standing there looking at each other in silence. Let's consider this my first ever interview that I conducted for this blog.
Me: It says on your chest that you voted. Can you do that?
Him: We voted at school, it really doesn't mean anything.
Me: So who did you vote for?
Him: McCain.
Me: [trying not to sound disappointed or question his reasoning]: If you don't mind me asking, why? What did you like about him or dislike about Obama?
Him: Moral issues are part of it, but mainly because of the war. If Obama were president he would pull all of the troops out of Iraq and 'they' would come and get us. McCain, on the other hand, will send more troops and take care of the problem and keep the bad guys away.
[He continued before I had time to ask a follow up question, although I was sort of speachless on that one anyway]
I also like Palin because she is from Alaska and she wants to drill for oil. We need more oil and nuclear, and Palin will be good for promoting the drilling of more oil in Alaska, as well as here in Utah. There are plenty of oil reserves, we just need to drill for it. [I was a little confused by the nuclear comment]
Me: Aren't you concerned about pollution from drilling for oil?
Him: It doesn't concern me, I can't see it and I don't think it will affect us here in utah.
Me: How about air pollution?
Him: I don't care, I don't think it matters.
Me: [I didn't know how to respond to that, but it didn't matter because our room opened up and I could go perform the test I needed to do.]
Listening to Obama's acceptance speach made me excited. I talked with one person who said he felt that Obama was back-pedaling in that speach, going from campaign promises to saying that he needed help and that it wouldn't be easy. That isn't what I saw at all. I felt that Obama hit it right on the money. He can't do it all as president. In fact, he can't do all that much on his own, he needs congress and he needs the Citizens of the United States. I think one of the biggest faults of the American people is expecting someone to come in and fix everything. 'We the people' need to make some changes too, and I think that we, collectively as a people, have far more power than does the president. The day that someone runs on the platform of 'Americans needing to take responsibility for their own actions rather than blaming it on their leaders', I will vote for him/her.
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing that conversation.
I agree with you about President-elect Obama. I think that the two things that I appreciate most about him (besides the love he obviously has for his wife) are
1) He recognizes that he needs others to accomplish what needs to be done and
2) He will listen, especially, as he said, to those with whom he disagrees.
He is a president, not a king. I'm so thankful that he has that vision and is eager to learn from all.
yeah. nuclear. both candidates had big plans for more nuclear facilities. what a joke. me, personally, i like wind. lots of it.
Kids normally just vote along with the position of their parents. But I found this comment just a little sad. "Him: It doesn't concern me, I can't see it and I don't think it will affect us here in utah."
Where has he been though. When I was in Utah we had some of the worst air in the nation during January.
And I have changed my mind somewhat about nuclear. I think we need to take another look at it. Not that I am excited about it. But I wonder if we really should be putting more energy into figuring out how to work with nuclear energy.
I am not as enthused about wind as some people. Have you ever seen those suckers. They are exactly eco friendly as some people might think.
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