Interest in politics needs to take place other than in the voting booth

When a person votes they fill in a bubble for a specific candidate, a person. But in this past election did we really vote for a person, or rather a trend? Were people caught up in a political swing that provoked a blind choosing of one political party over the other?

It’s a curious thought as to whether or not people, more specifically students, were actually informed when they entered the voting booth.

It has been theorized that the appeal of many of the top candidates in the Democratic Party, coupled with the current distaste of Republicans caused many people to simply vote a straight party ticket rather than bothering to gather information on each person running for office.

Just because a certain candidate may not have the national influence as Barack Obama, doesn’t mean that their election race isn’t as important.

Many lower level candidates are vying for a political position that could have significant bearing on what occurs on the state and local level.

Is it any wonder that older demographics appeared to be much more 50/50 on the candidates and proposals this past election? Is it possible that the older we get the more we’ll actually adopt our own opinions through research and past experiences rather than being caught up in the moment?

When asked if he thought voters were properly informed in this last election, Adam Viforeanu, a WMU Senior, said, “It’s hard to tell, some people have stuff to say, others don’t talk politics. It’s hard to tell on a college campus because a lot of people are too young and immature to really care.”

Are college aged people too immature to care? Are we too caught up in trying to be the generation to change the world that almost all of us collectively lean one way politically? It’d be interesting to know how many
Obama voters voted for him based on his policies, ethics and ideals rather than the hoopla surrounding him.

Despite some theories, Kevin Corder, Ph.D., chair of the WMU department of political science doesn’t feel that the average American voter is uninformed.

“Most voters are partisans. Partisans overwhelmingly vote for the candidate nominated by their party. So, no, the average American voter, the partisan, is not irresponsible, but in fact, informed, attentive, and engaged.”
Corder’s view does make sense as nearly 60 million people voted for McCain despite the fact that many consider this election to have been a landslide victory for Obama.

Another troubling observation is the seemingly drastic drop off in the excitement and relevance of politics in this month following the election.

Though many are proud of the high voter turnouts on Election Day, it is troubling that many people seemingly no longer care and are no longer interested in taking an active role in the political scheme.

Look no further than our own campus for a perfect example. Prior to election day West Campus was littered with signs, stickers, and chalk messages (mostly for Obama), as supporters for the candidates would sneak around late at night to put them up with hopes they’d survive without being ripped down the next morning by landscape employees.

Now, where are the signs? Though you might come across the occasional “OBAMA” with a peace sign in place of the “O,” political messages have fallen almost completely off the map. What is the point of an on-campus building, or a sidewalk if it isn’t littered with stickers and chalk?

Does this mean that excitement has disappeared, or has it just switched to quiet anticipation in this transitional period?

“It is always the case that interest in and attention to politics diminishes rapidly after an election, that is not unexpected,” said Corder.

“Big time,” said WMU senior Justin VanDemark, referring to the drop off since the election.

For Viforeanu, there doesn’t seem to be much of a change between pre and post-election.

“Before the election I paid attention to [the news] probably five days out of seven,” he said. “I still watch the news on a daily basis, but mostly not on the weekends. I keep up on the stock market and what Obama is doing.”

There is little doubt that the excitement has waned to insignificance.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the moment and it’s obvious that  moment has passed for many of us. Many hold the view that once the victory is won, what more is there to cheer about?

We should all take voting more responsibly and more seriously. We’re living in a country that is quickly succumbing to China and other powers as the premier global superpower, our economy is stumbling, and our decisions could be every important in the years to come and shouldn’t be left to chance.

Andrew Mell, a Western Herald opinion columnist, is a senior majoring in aviation, and can be reached via e-mail at melltimejr@hotmail.com.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Dec 4 2008. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com