Acceptance

This political cartoon is comparing issues the President of Iran is for and the Republican Party of the United States is for, specifically, the issue of homosexuality. Recently, President Ahmadinejad announced that he did not want any homesexuals in Iran.

The joke is that the Republicans have always been against homosexual rights in the United States like gay marriage etc. and that they would have used that same idea for the 2008 election.

Even though this may be a stretch, it is embarrasingly true. We are suppose to be a country that is looked up to and more advanced and modern in our ideas of acceptance. In actuality, history has shown that the U.S. is pretty much as accepting, if not behind, in accepting other cultures, religions, and sexes as the other countries in the world. I mean this in a negative way, for instance, we had slavery a lot longer than alot of other countries who had banned it.

Concerning homosexuality, my personal view (which I have to admit may be biast considering I am a Los Angeles girl) is give them the rights they deserve! If we seperated church and state like we are suppose to do, then how could gay marriage be an issue? People always use the bible, even government officials, to denounce homosexuality.

This is more than an issue of rights and laws. This is an issue of judgment and acceptance. Look at yourself and imagine if you did not have equal opportunities as other people because of something you were born with. This is laughable. This is ridiculous. This is so frustrating and I am willing to do what it takes for equality and to teach others the importance of acceptance.

Iraqi Refugees

This week, I decided to write my post based on the editorial piece I covered earlier in the week. The New York Times opinion piece "No Way Out" discussed the huge problem of Iraqis who are trying to leave their home country and become American citizens. This is especially unfortunate for those Iraqis considered traitors because they assisted America's war effort. The Bush Administration refuses to accept this problem as their responsibility. There are nearly ten thousand identified Iraqi refugees in desperate need of resettlement in the United States. American officials initially promised in February of 2007 to process seven thousand refugess by September of 2007. September is here and only nine hundred out of the ten thousand have made it to the United States, no where near the initial goal.

Applying for refugee status is expensive, risky, and there is no gurantee of success. One other option for refugees is to apply at the American Embassy in Jordan, but the officials located there are limited and the process is demanding. There is an estimated time of eight to ten months before Iraqi's can hope to arrive in the United States after they have referred to American authorities.

One solution the author gave in this editorial piece is that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should give a senior member of her starff responsibility for helping this cause and speeding up the process.

In my opinion, America has a moral obligation to help these Iraqi's who risked their lives to help us. I can understand how it is hard to choose who to help out of those ten thousand refugees, but America needs to take responsibility for destroying Iraq. A way our country can redeem itself is to help those people and families we hurt along the way.

Also, as much as I understand and respect the many countries who decided not to be involved in this war, that does not mean they should not have a sense to help humanity. Why should it only be America's job to open themselves up as a home for these refugees? There probablly are some countries like England and so on that are accepting these people, but there should be alot more going out of their way to help these damaged lives. It is hard for the United States to take in all ten thousand due to immigration quota, but if countries around Iraq and in Europe stepped in, and those ten thousand could be spread out among those many countries, then it would not be a burden at all. I do not understand how I could be a neighbor of Iraq and just stand there and see all those helpless, homeless, and vulnerable people begging for help due to war without doing anything I could to help them. Helping people in need (even if it is just being welcoming) is not political and countries should be able to do this without involving themselves with the war.

voting in presidential elections

After having a discussion last AP government class about the influence our vote had towards the outcome in a presidential election, I began to think if it was even necessary for the citizens of this nation to participate. One way to see this is that the voters are simply wasting their time going to the polls near their house on election day. Also, the feelings one has after voting of satisfaction and helpfulness towards making a better America can be ridiculed as an overexageration of one's place towards the outcome.

Although, even with all this said and done, I can not imagine not voting for my first time in the 2008 presidential election. I will even be disapointed with the millions of Americans who decide not to vote come election day. If it were my choice, I would modernize the voting system we have in elections and have it strictly be a national vote without any electoral influence. But that does not mean I will not vote with the format we have now until that is accomplished because I want to be an involved American- especially concerning politics. If people are complaining about the electoral college's vote in their state, then they should have chosen better people that represent their state more accurately. People need to be just as concerned voting for their state's electoral college as voting for the President of the United States because of the reasons stated above.

I support groups like "vote or die" (celebrity based) or any other organization focused on getting more people to vote in presidential elections. If everyone in the nation voted, then maybe our government would allow the people to have more responsibilty and influence in the next election. Maybe they would place more trust in the people of America to make a educated decision. Because, I do feel like my trust is violated, and my knowledge underestimated, but until a Utopia of government policies, laws, and amendments are made, I need to support the system we have now and put my voice and opinions out their by voting.

-JSLD