Obama? McCain?

During the last couple of months, U.S. citizens have been pressured to make the right decision in their choice of presidency in the elections. Will it be McCain? Or will it be Obama? Democrat or Republican? Who will save us from this economic crisis? Who will make a move on improving health care and bettering the country's safety? For the first time, people are actually paying full attention, and young people are actually getting involved. 

For this week's blog, I read a BBC News article on the Obama vs. McCain presidential election. It didn't exactly surprise me when I read about how terrified people are, and how little they trust the government now. Everyone's scared to go unemployed (if they aren't already), they're scared of not being able to provide for their family, and they're scared of losing their lifestyle, and everything they know. And the only way to mollify those fears is believing in one of the candidates, and believing that one of them will make a huge difference. Honestly, nobody knows who's going to be a better president or at least handle it better. We're all just guessing, and investing our hopes on them. And those candidates are doing everything they can to win us over, and believe in them. People are doing just that because these leaders are all we have left. 

Reading this article made me realize how much Americans depend on the government, and how much they expect from the president. When something goes wrong, they blame the government, president, and all the people who voted for the president. If things are going really well, they thank them. But have people ever stopped and realized it's their actions as well that are contributing to whatever the nation is going through? For instance, our economy didn't crash because Bush wanted it to (but it's not like he did a whole lot to stop it). It crashed because of people's actions and their carelessness. People basically think that the perfect government is one that will stop anything bad from happening, which is half their responsibility. The other half of that responsibility lies in the people. Being a democratic country entails citizens semi-running the country. We're the wheels turning this nation, and if a few of the wheels stop turning because they feel like it and they think that the machine as a whole has got it covered, and the owner won't let anything happen to them, the machine isn't going to work anymore. There's only so much the others and the owner can do. Just like the U.S., and it's leaders, and people. 

More and more individuals are starting to realize their contributions matter, and are at least almost trying to make an effort at helping their country. Especially by paying more attention to their own actions, and the candidates. Young people have finally found their voices and their opinions, and are using them. This year's presidential election is one of the most important elections of  our history, and it will determine the state of our nation and what direction it's headed in.