politics
OPINION: Constricting parties and the illusion of choice
|The election is finally upon us and we are adjusting schedules to ensure we get to the polls on time. Because the candidates have varying stances on very important issues, Americans want to make sure every vote counts. But, sitting in my friends’ breakfast nook, looking at my absentee ballot, I realize that there is only the illusion of choice: we live in a system where only the two main parties ever vie for positions of political power.
OPINION: Free speech zones and the struggle for freedom of expression
|It is election season, and many students are asking: Why vote?
In 2008, voter turnout for 18-24 year olds reached a high of 49 percent, and many analysts predict this number to return to a more lackadaisical norm for 2012. While colleges are often considered the bastions of liberal arts and free speech, the condensing of First Amendment rights to a “free speech zone” on campus have hindered, rather than encouraged, civic engagement.
OPINION: The political motivations behind legislative nomenclature
|With the nation just a few weeks away from electing our representatives in Washington, Congress is bottlenecked with legislation. Bills addressing a range of issues, from the financial crisis to foreign affairs, lay waiting for committees to act on them. In reflection of the campaigns’ tones and messages, authors of these bills have adorned their legislation with explicit titles aimed at specific issues.
OPINION: Kaine empathizes with American people, Allen falls short
|The very fact that George Allen has primarily run his campaign touting his record and credentials as a responsible “fiscal conservative” is perhaps the most ridiculous assertion I have heard all campaign season, and that is saying something. The best comparable analogy would be General Pinochet boasting about his stellar human rights record. As is often the case in politics, Allen’s rhetoric about being such an ardent deficit hawk simply fails to match reality.
OPINION: Why Allen is the better choice for United States Senate
|As George Allen recently said in his debate against Tim Kaine, “will we continue to decline, or ascend again?” These are words which frequently resonate in the heads of concerned Americans. The national debt has been rising at a historic rate and unemployment has been high for the last few years. Speaking as a college student, I feel that it is important to look at the state of our economy as we will soon be searching through the job market.
OPINION: The fallacy with the Libertarian economic argument
|“Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness.” - Viktor Frankl
Eastwood's RNC speech embodies ridiculousness in the Republican Party
|Clint Eastwood’s speech at the Republican National Convention was emblematic of the absurdity that has plagued the Republican Party in recent years. Lack of preparedness aside, Eastwood gave a speech in which he did two things: he hypocritically declared his support for Mitt Romney and created a personality for President Obama that Republicans wish exists even though it does not.
The skewed moral standards of society
|Last spring, pro-life protesters stood in the North Plaza at George Mason University. During the peak of the school day, these protesters advocated their pro-life stance to the student population. To encourage the college students to conform to their stance, they presented two-story high signs displaying pictures of aborted fetuses.
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