Drew Avery writes:
“We might as well save the millions of dollars it will cost to stage and secure these conventions. I can honestly say I don’t know any one who hasn’t already picked his or her president. If the election were held next month, I don’t see the results being different than November's.”
Well, Drew, now you know someone undecided -- me. And to be honest, I don’t think my situation is all that isolated. Although college campuses like the UW are rife with very visible, very opinionated, very partisan and highly informed youth, there are a whole lot more who are uninformed. They're just beginning to realize the importance of voting in a turbulent, crucial time. On my dorm floor of about 60 people, about six read the newspaper every day. What about the other 54?
Not everyone is already a lifelong, die-hard Republican or Democrat. Not everyone knows everything they need to know about the candidates and issues. Not everyone is completely sure. There are people in the middle, like me.
Then there are people who bash on Bush just because it’s fashionable in a liberal area. You know, the ones who always say “Bush is an idiot” or “Bush made lots of mistakes in Iraq,” without knowing much more than that.
Hopefully, the conventions and upcoming election will motivate them to find out more, instead of jumping on the anti-Bush bandwagon with empty, unfounded judgments.
Throughout high school, I lived a fairly sheltered existence. I didn’t know any news beyond the gossip floating around the halls, who was dating who, who said THAT about her.
Then 9-11 changed the world, I grew up, I went to college, and now I’m just becoming more and more interested and informed about politics, national and international. I try hard to learn about the issues, watching the news, reading different sources and chatting with my undecided (yes, they DO exist), Republican and Democratic friends.
For young people like me, who are just starting to become more involved, the conventions -- and any future debates -- offer the perfect starting points toward understanding current political issues. To get rid of them would be untraditional and depriving youth, and others, of a great learning opportunity.
Drew writes that conventions should be cancelled because “only one in every five people is undecided;" well, doing the math, that’s 20 percent. Pretty significant in a close race -- and it matters a lot to those in the 20 percent trying to learn more.
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