Our Responsibility as Citizens: Popping the Filter Bubble

The filter bubble prevents Americans from fulfilling our responsibilities as engaged citizens. Furthermore, only showing the public what they want to see blinds them to opposing viewpoints, thus limiting their exposure to knowledge. But choosing to expand your perspective beyond your personalized filter bubble will remove this issue and create a country of aware, involved citizens. This act of choosing is known as political efficacy, or a citizen’s ability to understand and influence political affairs. A citizen’s ability and willingness to promote change allows them to engage in all other civic responsibilities, including voting, grassroots mobilization, and cultural change.

The effects of political efficacy in the voting process are enormous. If citizens research and understand the viewpoints of all candidates -from the president down to every representative in city hall- they will know who they are voting for, rather than just straight-ticket voting. While straight-ticket voting may be the best option for some voters, the Pew Research Center’s Political Typology quiz reveals that few members of a political party agree with 100% of their party’s views. Because of this, straight-ticket voting can leave people in office who you would not have voted for if you had been aware of their political views and moral ideals. But choosing to expand your perspective by acknowledging the filter bubble allows citizens to reflect on opinions from all candidates, despite their party affiliation.

Grassroots mobilization is also heavily influenced by a citizen’s efficacy. Grassroots mobilization describes a group of like-minded individuals coming together to make a difference, whether it be economic, social, political, and environmental change. Positive change in a community can only begin when citizens become informed from going out of their way to discover current societal issues. By knowing the problems, citizens can form intellectual opinions, which, upon criticism, can be supported by logic.

Cultural change is a political pathway in which change occurs gradually over time. For example, the legalization of gay marriage has been a public issue for many years. But through lobbying and peaceful protests, those in favor of gay marriage changed the opinions of critics over time. For topics like this, producing positive change can take many years, and therefore requires dedicated and patient citizens to stand for their cause. If the filter bubble prevents us from shedding light on a current issue, it would be impossible to address the matter in the first place.

It is easy for American citizens to overlook the power of civic participation by insisting that just one person doesn’t make a significant difference. But political efficacy allows us to acknowledge the pros and cons of our country. Here, we must be able to recognize where improvements can be made and then improve upon them. We must also acknowledge and utilize the liberties we have, like voting for example. With political efficacy, citizens will be able to vote intellectually, produce positive change in their community, and cause cultural shifts over time. Contrary to the belief that citizen involvement doesn’t make a difference, it is the most effective method of improving our country from the ground up. 

 

Becoming a Citizen

One can be a technically be a citizen, but if they do not practice their duties, are they really a citizen?  Government taught me not only the foundations of our government system, but also how to understand, manipulate, and follow it.  The thing I found most interesting was the election process.  Honestly, I didn’t know anything about the electoral college before taking the government course.  Knowing how the American government system works is the first step in becoming an active, and true citizen.  Furthermore, knowing how to find and understand information is what makes an active citizen unique.  Understanding the aspects of government is not small; there are many different components to it, but with the use of new information mediums, it is a reasonable task.  The use of internet allows access to an abundance of information and must be utilized by an active citizen.

Electoral College

Elections represent the founding spirit and beliefs America abides by, and are arguably the most significant facets of our society.  To begin, when looking at the electoral college, I was surprised to find a vote really isn’t a direct vote for the president.  At the same time, votes are the solely the most important part of a democracy, and passively sitting back defeats and purpose of the system.  Understanding what one’s vote is actually doing, as well as the power behind it is what makes a true citizen.  The interactive part of our course where we made predictions on the outcome of the 2012 election was especially interesting.  Looking at all the different information at hand, and then coming up with conclusions was really helpful in understanding what exactly was going on.  It was also exciting on the election day to see who was wrong or right (my predictions were correct as usual).  With all the excitement wrapped up in that, the use of technology was a refreshing outlet for all thoughts and opinions.  Most teachers neglect to follow the technological world, and the integration of Twitter was exceptional.  As a student, I was exposed to endless viewpoints from real people, and as a citizen I was able to conclude rational things based on the information at hand.

The word refreshing describes that technology is not used enough in the classroom.  There is quite literally endless amounts of knowledge, and information provided though this medium.  Technology adds fuel to the engine that is a student’s brain.  When they think that they are doing something just for a grade, the ethics are not as enthusiastic.  The internet backs assignments with reason and cause because of an audience.  Using the internet as a medium also allows group collaboration between peers, and even outside sources.  This is a valuable asset to current learning.  I learned not only how to access the internet and manipulate for my on benefit, but also how to collaborate and gain new perspectives.  All this information is necessary for a citizen to participate properly in government.

Participation in voting, although increasing, is below 70%
American citizens need to be more active and understand their role

After understanding where to find the information, as well as learn all the facts, a citizen must understand the importance of using these facts, and the role they play in society.  The Presidential elections is an obvious example of the necessity a citizen plays, but is only one of many.  Understanding votes is easy, but there so many other ways to get involved in elections.  The basis of getting involved in elections is through the pathways of actions (court, grassroot-mobilization, cultural change, lobbying, elections).  These are the main seeds which have endless potential for growth.  Elections are one of the pathways for a citizen to get involved.  Deciding who to vote for is the first main issue a citizen faces.  Grassroot Mobilization is a way to draw attention to a candidate.  In addition to all the other pathways in government, I learned that a citizen must take an active role using pathways to become an avid voter. Voting is only a start to getting involved in elections, there are many other aspects a person can get involved in, especially in media and internet.  Insight on how elections work is just one example of the importance of a citizen.  The fundamental of American government is the citizen, and knowing one’s value is key.

Overall, the use of internet was the most unique, and boundless part of the course.  Through it I rediscovered a new area of knowledge, and interaction.  It has helped me become a well rounded citizen, and gave insight to information I didn’t understand before.  Taking a passive role as a citizen nulls the efforts a democracy creates.  Additionally, taking an active role as a citizen but remaining ignorant is just as bad.  Not participating as a citizen cancels the idea, ideology, and overall beliefs of America.  Active involvement in government, in addition to knowledge is essential for the system to work properly.  Information is readily available to anyone who seeks it; government has taught me that.

Participation in the election process is one key role an active citizen must engage in

Improving Voter Participation

Voter participation is very low. While America defines itself as a democracy, it is hard to back this assertion up when such little of its population participates in electing the leaders of our country. According the CNN, only approximately 51% of our population votes, a staggering low number. Citizens feel that their vote really doesn’t matter in the large scheme of things, however the democracy of the United States is hurt by not having a majority of the population voting. I believe that this lack of participation is embarrassing, and I am relieved that people are addressing this issue and examine way to fix it. 

As an eighteen-year old high school student, the most humiliating statistic is the number of eligible youth voters. Jessica Babtsite reports that only 42% of eligible voters between ages eighteen to twenty-four vote. Personally, it does not surprise me that this number is so low. It seems as if politicians have neglected to reach out and connect the young people of America, and they have left us hanging. Most kids are indifferent about how our country is run, mostly because people have never cared to inform them. However, the problem is on both sides. Young people need to understand that it is pertinent to participate in the democracy that America has provided, and politicians need to understand that the young people of American have opinions and they do matter.
In 1990, an organization called Rock the Vote was created to improve the statistic of youth voting. The program informed kids, and encouraged them to vote. This program also awoken the politicians, and made them understand how necessary it is to address the youth of America. In 1992, just two years after the program started, there was nearly a 20% increase in youth voting. In 2004, 1.2 million young people voted in the presidential election. In 2008, 2.25 million young people voted. However in 2012, the level of youth voting stayed the same. As numbers have increased though, there is no doubt in my mind that despite the recent turnout in 2012, numbers in youth participation will continue to rise.

Social media has as well begun to influence voter turn out. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs, vlogs, and Youtube, and email have all greatly manipulated not only the Presidential elections, but also any government election across the world. In an article on Voice of America, an online news site, James Fowler proclaims just how social media can influence an election. He says that he once received an email that said, “There was also a link that you could click on that allowed you to look up your polling place. And in some of the messages we also showed people the pictures of their friends who

Social Media

had clicked on the ‘I Voted’ button earlier in the day.” Social media affects both sides of elections, the voters and the candidates. Voters can become very informed on any candidate within seconds, as well as develop opinions on candidates within seconds. Social media has allowed voters to connect to their candidates like never before. On the other hand, candidates can also connect with their people like never before as well. They can get a feel for what the people are feeling and what people’s opinions are. Through social media, it is much easier for candidates to conform to the idea of everyone, rather than just the people they meet face to face. All of the connections created by social media have definitely influenced voter turnout, and it has definitely increased the numbers.

There is no doubt in my mind that by addressing the issue of voter participation and creating ways to improve numbers such as Rock the Vote or social media tactics, voter participation will continue to rise. I predict that both youth participation and total voter turnout will be at its greatest percentage by the 2016 elections. I know I will definitely be voting for the first time!

They may love him, but will they vote for him?

President Obama is known for many things such as being the first black president, starting obama care, being president when Osama bin Laden was found and killed, and now for supporting gay marriage. The people of the United States have taken almost everything that president Obama has done and turned it into a controversy. Any president who makes big decisions usually causes controversy since the United States has many different opinionated groups. The most recent controversy that president Obama is facing is his support for gay marriage. The reason being is that americans feel as though he had came out by saying he supported gay marriage at the wrong time. They felt that he waited too long or some of the more conservative people think that he shouldn’t have said it at all. I personally think that it was a smart decision for him to come out and say that he supports gay marriage but I felt like he took more credit for himself than he should have because after all, Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan had come out before and endorsed and supported gay marriage. One of the reasons I feel like it is a good decision from president Obama is because polling showed that more than half of America supported gay marriage.

             Over the years, president Obama has been liked for many things but image was also a factor in him being liked so much. He has the image of being a strong black man with supportive wife and two children. Already from just that he gets the family vote. President is also liked for his many appearances on television shows such as the late night show with Jimmy Fallon and also the View. This gives him a wide range of people watching to see “who he really is”. President Obama also has a twitter who is run by the Obama campaign staff who right now has close to 16 million followers. All of these factors into him being such a liked president but I believe that it will not help him enough to where if you took solely the people who just “liked” him, it wouldn’t be enough. As much as people like him, he has made many decisions who could have changed their minds very easily in the past four years. President Obama still has a good chance in winning the presidential race but it will not be so much of whether people like him or not.

Sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/marriage-obama-brave-warrior-political-late-comer/story?id=16363665#.T7VVX-WJmkI

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/17/politics/obama-likeability/index.html

You Should Probably Vote

Why is it that every year the percentage of participation of the total number of eligible voters decreases every time an election takes place? It seems that young Americans are not voting for the wrong reasons and their thought process is all messed up. Sure everyone has their reason but majority get it from one person who makes a decision based off of faulty information and spread their toxic disease to all that they know. From there it’s just like an unstoppable cancer that spreads through out the surrounding communities and now we’re left with a bunch of uninformed eligible voters who don’t vote.

            A recent survey from the California Voter Foundation (CVF) shows that 28 percent of infrequent voters and 23 percent of those unregistered said they do not vote or do not register to vote because they are too busy. 93 percent of infrequent voters agreed that voting is an important part of being a good citizen and 81 percent of nonvoters agreed it is an important way to voice their opinions on issues that affect their families and communities. So maybe this whole being too busy thing is a real issue that has been addressed on multiple occasions. Some of the ideas to fix the problem include early voting and voting by absentee ballot. The survey found that family and friends influence how non-voters decide to vote as much as daily newspapers and TV news. Among non-voters, 65 percent said conversations with their families and local newspapers were influential sources of information when it comes to making voting decisions. So unfortunately most of the predictions that many have made surrounding the fact that maybe the media does have a strong effect on our voters today might prove to be correct.

            One of the biggest arguments that people have is that their vote doesn’t count. In my opinion there is a very simple solution to this problem. If our eligible voters are uninformed then we as a country are doomed, the voting turnout will consistently decrease at a most likely rapid rate. A solution to this problem is to turn to education, if young Americans are more informed at a younger age then the chances of them voting are much greater then if they’re not. Form there they can at least hold enough information to make an educated decision rather than a decision that was basically made by a friend. A final argument that is made towards people who don’t vote is that, it doesn’t matter who is in office because no matter who it is my daily life will go unaffected by it. This is a harder cookie to bite into. There isn’t just a simple and sure solution to this one because it is so hard to make a point back towards ones thinking. This is something a potential candidate is going to have to one day fix. If a candidate can sit down and lay out a plan with extreme detail that leaves a sturdy foundation with his or her audience, then people will begin to change their minds. Until that day that politics change, we can only do so much to get people back into those booths on election day.

Negative money in Politics

The subject that I found most interesting this trimester in Government was how money affects the polls in America. Is it detrimental to the process or does it help the candidates overall? This is a good question because many people argue that it’s very difficult for the candidate that isn’t getting a lot of money flowing in to his campaign to win and share his ideas.

I’m going to first talk about how I think this is hurtful to the polls. First of all the negative effects of certain candidates getting a ton of money is that it doesn’t give the other running candidates ample opportunity to express their views to the public due to the fact that they just simply do not get much air time, interviews, etc. Companies are able to openly support a certain candidate of their choice meaning that huge fortune 500 companies could give huge sums of money helping their campaign trail advertisements because they cannot directly give them money for their campaign; which helps them hugely because with all that money they can easily get their name on more commercials, magazines, in the public eye more than their opponents .The Government stepped in and said that this was indeed constitutional due to freedom of speech; so the Government decided that companies could openly announce what candidate that they supported and give them large donations. They said “The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the government may not keep corporations from spending money to support or denounce individual candidates in elections.” (http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/01/citizens-united-v-fec-in-plain-english/)  this is awesome for candidates getting these huge sums of money, but for those not getting so much money flow it can hurt. If a candidate gets the backing of these huge companies it can sweep elections. The Government justices said they were concerned with these companies spending huge sums of money; their main argument was that companies are not necessarily people so they should not have the same freedom of speech as everyone else. Companies can indeed sway the public’s views and votes in my opinion.

They can use all that money for commercials and use propaganda on other candidates, which ultimately makes the public, think twice about the person that they are voting for.  Eugene Volokh is a professor of law and he was quoted saying “These corporations overtly editorialize for and against candidates, and also influence elections by choosing what to cover and how to cover it.” Meaning that yes these corporations can negatively effect the polls by giving certain candidates a lot of exposure of sabotaging the ones that they don’t agree with. (http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/how-corporate-money-will-reshape-politics/)  “the court decision means that voters will have more messages from more sources — including wealthy unions and wealthy corporations -– to supplement the messages they already get from wealthy media corporations, wealthy political parties, wealthy advocacy groups, and wealthy individuals, as well as from not-so-wealthy neighbors, bloggers, and others.”

So, overall all of this money from huge corporations is bad for the polls because it doesn’t give other people to positively speak their ideas in the mainstream where the public can have easy access to it. In my opinion only individuals should be able to give money to the candidate of their choice.

Don’t Let Your Voice Go to Waste

Throughout this trimester, I have learned a great deal of new material. Some I had no clue even existed or went on in our world, like every little step in the election process, from the Iowa Caucus all the way to voting day. There is so much effort and time that is being put into the campaigns. I now have so much respect for the candidates with the devotion of their time they put into everything. With all the time and effort the candidates put into the elections, the LEAST we could do is go vote on voting day. Besides, not everyone is granted this privilege to have a say, so we need to take advantage of this opportunity.

http://www.yourdictionary.com/images/articles/lg/379.PresidentialElection.jpg

One of the first things the candidates do is the Iowa Caucus. The Iowa caucuses are noteworthy for the amount of media attention they receive during U.S. presidential election years. Since 1972, the Iowa caucuses have been the first major electoral event of the nominating process for President of the United States. What the candidates do in the caucus is get more familiar with the people in Iowa in hopes to gain their votes. Since Iowa is relatively smaller than other states, this really gives the people the opportunity to really get to know the candidates better. Since they know the candidates on a more personal level, they have a better grasp of what kind of people the candidates really are and have very influential votes. For this reason, makes the Iowa Caucus a very reliable source to predict the future, because eight out of eleven elections, the candidate who won the Caucus ended up winning the whole presidency. The candidates put in a lot of effort, attempting to visit as many cities and make as many speeches and broadcasts as possible in order to get their ideas out in the open.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iowa-StateSeal.svg

Another task the candidates have to go through is advertising. The candidates go from house to house, promoting their ideas and hopes for our country. One important key point the candidates try to accomplish, is promote their ideas to the swing states. By mainly focusing on the swing states, they hope to gain more votes. A swing state is a state in which no single candidate or party has overwhelming support in securing that state’s Electoral College votes. Candidates try to win over the swing states’ Electoral College votes so they can add those votes with the other votes that they normally receive from the strong conservatives or strong liberals. Candidates also have to make campaign commercials, but first they have to raise money in order to make these commercials. The candidates put a lot of time into raising money. Once, they have collected enough, they then have to put effort into actually making the campaign commercials. Campaign commercials are not easy to make, because they have to intrigue the viewers to stay attentive while watching it.

All of these exhausting events finally lead up to the voting day, where we the people voice our opinion on who we think would better our country. After all the candidates’ hard work and effort, only one can ultimately win. Our government taught me the vigorous elections process and all the little steps in between. It has also taught me the importance of our voice and how important it is to use it by voting.

Off To The Races

“Off to the races we go, no time to wait…” Like the catchy saying my mom tells me every morning, this year has been off to a hectic start. With elections just around the corner, it seems as if time has flown by. Overall, this trimester has been quite chaotic with the in-class working projects and now the student campaign project we are just beginning. Throughout the course of this trimester I have learned a great deal about government that I did not know before. The most important things that I have learned about this trimester are the importance of voter participation in elections and the complexity of Presidential campaigns.

First, I have learned about the American public participating in elections. Over the course of the years, voter participation in elections has gradually been decreasing due to several factors. According to our textbook, voters are gaining more and more distrust for our government, people are busier now than ever, there have been changes to local party politics, and the role of news media have all been the causes for citizens not voting. It is interesting to learn about the participation of individual voters and makes me aware that we, as Americans need to be more active now.

In addition to voter participation in elections, I have also enjoyed learning about Presidential campaigns and elections. Working on a campaign project really caught my attention on how much candidates actually spend on campaigns. There is a tremendous amount of time, effort, and money that each candidate puts into their run for office.  This trimester as a group of four, we worked as a team to help create a candidate to run in our in-class election. We first started by making a website to get our candidate known to the media, also known as our fellow A1 classmates who we would be running against. Along with the website, we had to write policy briefs, write a biography, make a campaign commercial video for our candidate if we wanted to, and we had to present all this material in an in class election for our candidate.

Campaign Website

In conclusion, it is evident that I have learned a great deal throughout the course of this third trimester. The election process is interesting and each election and campaign is different. By understanding the election process, there is a greater chance that people will become involved in politics and how the country is run.

The Need to Take Part

VOTE

“A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won’t cross the street to vote in a national election” (Bill Vaughn). But how can this be? Our founding fathers strived to provide for us a nation that was “by the people, for the people”(Abraham Lincoln). Yet, it is apparent today that Americans are too lazy to have their say in the government.  This lack of voting spurs an amalgam of problems for our nation including misrepresentation, inaccurate votes, and an unfair advantage to some candidates and bills to be passed. The reasons this lack of voter participation persists includes the possible negative role of the media in influencing the population, the change in current lifestyle of Americans, and the attitudinal change that has occurred among the citizens of the United States, all problems that can and should be solved.

First of all, the negative influence of the current media has caused many to choose not to vote or participate in certain roles of citizenship due to their adverse reactions to the media broadcasts. One cannot take a stroll about town without encountering some sort of advertisement, radio broadcast, or other forms of media influence. With all of this, the minds of the public can’t avoid the overwhelming slur of opinions and information that is fed to them. Yet, although the media can be beneficial for the spread of informative facts about the candidates and current affairs, it can also be a curse by spreading false information about a candidate’s personal life or political beliefs . An example of this is an occurrence with Barack Obama during the 2008 election. The media had spread false information that Obama was not a natural born citizen of the United States because his birth certificate did “not appear to be an authentic certificate”(1). This media calamity caused many to question the citizenship of Obama, and, even with the release of his legal birth certificate, people today still have doubt(1). Situations like this one seem to discourage citizens from voting for certain candidates, or from even voting at all, sparking lack of voter problems as well.

Next, lifestyle changes among Americans have changed the dynamic of American life, creating a shift into a “busier” schedule for many. This “shift” has caused many to declare themselves “too busy” and become too distracted by all of the outlets of technology and entertainment today. Every minute of an American’s life is filled, whether it is with eating, socializing, surfing the web, moving from point a to b, watching television, working, exercising, or others. Americans are constantly busy with all of their day to day activities, so when do they have time to vote? Americans seem to be too distracted by all of the opportunities the technological and social world has to provide, finding themselves without a spare minute to go and vote. Overall, because of the vast difference in our society today compared to that of 50 years ago, citizens currently feel less inclined to vote due to their busy schedules and constant distractions.

Among the lifestyle changes, Americans have also undergone attitudinal changes, causing them to choose not to vote. Americans have become less and less confident in their government due to the problems throughout the years. According to a survey done by the New York Times, of a “poll of 1,017 adults, conducted in early September… 81 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed”(2), a very significant amount. The diminishing economy, the failure of some bills and laws to be passed, and other mishaps of the government make many doubt the effectiveness of the government. People are wary of the democratic government and some believe a different system would be beneficial for America. Due to these beliefs, many American citizens have chosen not to vote or take part in the democratic process, causing a rise in non-voters and therefore a rise in misrepresentation, unfair advantages and disadvantages, and other effects.

Set Excuses Aside and Vote Proud Today!

The effects of the absence of many voters due to many of the reasons discussed above can be very critical to the United States government. Being a government based upon the democratic belief of representation for all, the United States government depends on the votes of the people to accurately judge how the nation should be governed and what laws should be passed. Without a population of voters that are indicative of the entire nation, the democracy in America could possibly fail. Many people who did not or could not vote would be underrepresented and would be more inclined to have issues with the way the government was making decisions. Voting is a crucial responsibility for all Americans and should be practiced by all in order to create a nation represented “by the people, for the people”(Abraham Lincoln).

Works Cited:

(1) Powell, Kimberly. “Is Barack Obama Really a U.S. Citizen?”. Genealogy. 30 Aug. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2012.<http://genealogy.about.com/b/2008/08/30/is-barack-obama-really-a-us-citizen.htmhttp://&gt;.

(2) Rampbell, Catherine. “Losing Faith in Government.” New York Times. 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2012.<http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/losing-faith-in-government/&gt;

We are Surrounded with Media

The election process has really helped me relate to the work we have been doing in Government class. National Politics really shows how news spreads around the nation and really keeps people informed on what is happening. National Politics has really helped me stay informed on what is happening with the election, Government, Senate, and so on. Media plays a big part in our lives, even if we don’t realize it.

The main event that has really helped me understand the course material would have to be the election. The election has helped me so much because it hits all topics that we have been learning about. The biggest aspect that it helped me understand would be media. I never realized how important media was in today’s world, but really media is how we get all our information. Everywhere we look something is informing us on the news, whether it is facebook, twitter, school, billboards, commercials, etc. Media in general is all around us and helps the candidates spread the word of their ideas. I also never realized how important campaign commercials were in the elections. Campaign commercials is the candidate’s way to basically sum up their ideas and main key points to broadcast to the world and hopefully recruit some support for their campaign. An example of a great campaign commercial is “In America: Anything is Possible” by Mitt Romney. This ad is inspiring, encouraging, and makes the people of America feel safe and united. Without the help of our Government class I would have never been able to indicate a bad commercial from a good commercial if I saw one. Government class has helped me understand what are good qualities for the President of the United States to posses and what qualities we should keep a heads up to watch out for.

Government class is helping me start to form opinions about certain issues, such as who we would want to run our country, how important it is to vote, and social media. Before, Government class, I did not care much about the election process and tried to avoid any information about it. I not only didn’t care for the news because I thought it was boring, but I didn’t like how I didn’t understand the terminology and meaning of some of the statements they stood for. This made me feel less than and incapable of understanding what was happening in our country. Thanks to our government class, I now understand what the president’s run for and what they are trying to accomplish in their campaigns. A great President for our country would be one that followed the Stewardship Model. This means that we could trust our President because we don’t have to limit his powers and that he still has the best interest in our nation. I also now understand that voting is very important. We have the opportunity to have a say in how our nation will be ruled and it is important to have our input so we get the best option possible. Social Media really helps us determine who we want to vote for. Information about the candidates is everywhere and we need to listen. I am looking forward to voting and having a say when I become old enough to vote.

Some other opinions I have started to form is that although media is very helpful and useful to our everyday lives, I don’t think we should rely on it so much. I think Presidents should meet and greet as many people as they can and get on a more personal level with our people, such as when they are in the Iowa Caucus. By getting on a more personal level, it helps the people be more comfortable with you and it really helps them understand what kind of person you are and why they would want you to lead our country. By meeting more people, it would help more people like you, because by taking time out of your day to go talk to someone would make them feel special and just by doing that would help the candidate rally up some votes. The people have the right to fully get to know who their President will be, because being the President is a big deal, and the people need to know that whoever is elected has the best interest of the people in mind, but still willing to do what is best for the country when needed.

 http://www.mndaily.com/2012/02/07/digital-door-knocking