Political Parties

     Out of the political parties to choose from this day in age, I would classify myself with the Independent party. I say this because my views and opinions can cross over into those of Republicans and Democrats, while still disagreeing with some of their views as well. I like the fast of being part of the Independent party because I can take into consideration all aspects of the parties and decide for myself what I think is the best for our country. There are, of course, parts that I may not disagree with, but I have never met an individual that agrees wholly with their political party.

     I think that if American politics would have started out without political parties it would have survived for awhile. Although, I believe that the formation of political parties was inevitable. Our country is all about freedom and individuality. I believe in a lot of aspects, political parties give the Americans the individuality they crave for. The world is so diverse today, I am not so sure that our political system would be able to survive. It is also a means of easy identification.

     Out of the lesser known political parties, I chose to research the Modern Whig party. I could identify myself with this one the most. Like the Independent party, that I classify myself as, the Modern Whig party is also for the voters who agree with some views of the Republican party and some views of the Democratic party. I can identify myself with this because it is very similar to the Independent party.

Unions

     I chose the American Postal Workers Union to do research on, because I have a neighbor who has been affected by this. It has been a non-stop struggle lately for those working at the Post Office to keep these branches open. I find it interesting that these men and women struggle on a regular basis just to make sure they can keep their jobs. I do agree with the issues they face, and I understand why they go to the extremes to keep their job. I feel like the postal service is on that is slowly declining as technology advances, and this puts their jobs in jeopardy. I feel like this union is a very important aspect for the postal service life.

     After reading about the National Nurses United union, I feel like I can relate mostly to this interest group. The issues they face in the medical career are similar ones I can see myself facing as I enter into the career of being a radiologist. I understand their need to protest to protect their health care and believe they have the right to protest these issues.

     I believe that interest groups have just the right amount of power in the political system. They are not overpowering about the issues they face, but still protest to do something about it. I think that the line between freedom of speech and unfair persuasion is crossed when politicians dig deep into the personal lives of their opponents to trash their campaign.

Objectivity/Talk Radio/Media Objectivity

     I believe in some news stations there is objectivity hidden in there somewhere. It is just so hard to tell this day in age, with so much information being spread around. It is so easy for someone to make up results, ideas, or “facts” to be reported about in the news. There are still news stations who claim that all of their information is strictly based on facts and scientific polls done correctly, but truthfully we would never be able to know for sure unless we saw the facts ourselves, or watch the polls in progress. Unfortunately, that is a problem we face with news coverage, journalism, and online information. In my opinion, I believe they all have the same amount of the objectivity we strive to see.

     I usually do not listen to talk radio to receive my political information. I mostly will watch debates and the news, when they time comes, and also receive some information online. I do know you have to be cautious about what sites you are visiting to receive your information, but if you find the correct ones it will be good information. With that said, talk radio does not affect my view of politics, because I do not listen to it.

     I think media objectivity is very important, because it can be unbiased facts. If these facts are unbiased, it is easier for people to see these facts and form their own opinion about what they believe. A lot of people question the existence of objectivity in journalism, because it is incredibly hard to have unbiased facts. It kind of makes me think if there is actually such a thing.

Polls/Party Identification/Opinions

     I think, with all the political debates that are televised, American news media is not that dependent upon political polls. Polls can be useful in seeing where everyone, or the topic, stands with American citizens, but only if they are done correctly. Polls can be majorly swayed by people, but can also be a useful piece of information in politics if done correctly. Although, I am not sure how many people will vote on polls without being  upto-date on everything that is happening, but polls can be wrong if done incorrectly. Also, I do not think it is appropriate for news agencies to create polls and then report on them. Even though some may be accurate, I think polls should be done professionally so you are getting the most correct information possible. Also, news agencies creating more polls can spread confusion, because there is such a thing as one too many polls.

     Political party identification, to me, is not that important. I don’t believe I could put myself under one category of political parties, because the topics and my opinions can be so diverse. I have a problem of seeing many benefits and and non-benefits to each side, that it takes much research and time to decide, that it could be opposite to what my political party would think the answer would be. It may have been more important to my grandparents, but my parents are the same way as me. Growing up, I never heard my parents talk specifically about what party they were; just that they were talking their own opinions on the topics. Everyone is different, so some friends may find it very important to categorize themselves under a party, but other friends also do not see themselves as just one political party.

   I do not think my opinion of politics is more influenced by economic or social issues more than the other, I think it is more likely a mixture of both. I like to take all sides of information of a wide variety of issues and base my opinions on all of that research. 

Race/Gender/Sexual Orientation

       I think the government does too little to reduce the instances of racial discrimination at some points in time. Those being handled poorly on television need to be taken care of in a formal fashion. I believe in America we should all be equal, no matter what. There are so many ways people discriminate, but race, gender, and sexual orientations are pretty big deals. I understand discrimination does happen, and not ever incident can be stopped. Although, we do not see many incidents happening on television, but when they do happen I believe it should not be taken so lightly. Not just with race, but also gender and sexual orientation.

This issue of gender, I feel, was a major problem many years ago, but has since loosened up. I know there are still cases where gender discrimination does still occur, but to me at least, it is just not something you hear very often. Many laws have been passed for women to have the equal rights as men. So, I feel the government does a perfect amount to reduce the instances of gender discrimination. Unless, I am just out of the loop with this topic recently. We see today many high power women, especially running for president.

The issue of sexual orientation is such a major controversy in our time right now, that I am a little afraid to blog about this topic. I believe the government does too little to reduce the instances of sexual orientation discrimination, and too much of inhabiting them. I think it is pretty sad that we actually have to pass a law in each state to legalize gay marriage. I know some people are just completely against, I have just never been able to wrap it around my mind why. I think the government needs to focus more on reducing the instances of sexual orientation discrimination, and less time causing them.