The Collegian
Friday, March 29, 2024

Election 2008: Why We Should Care

An economy in recession, a housing market in crisis, a war on two fronts, a world on the brink of irreversible climate crises, an ongoing genocide, and an ever present threat of terrorism and disease, require better than partisan politics and unilateralism on the world stage. More importantly, it requires more from you and me -- from us.

The challenges we face call upon the best of us: the best of our morals, the best of our intentions, the best of our abilities and of our actions. In a globalized world, a genocide in Darfur is not merely a wrong committed in the Sudan, but rather an injustice to all humanity; HIV/AIDS is not a continental challenge but a global epidemic; the threat of terrorism and nuclear proliferation does not only endanger one region but all nations of the world; the challenges of climate change does not only jeopardize the future of one country, or one people, but of all civilization.

On the home-front, the host of challenges we face require more than just one party gaining a majority in Congress. Helping working families in need during a time of economic recession and record high prices, providing healthcare for those who cannot afford it, reforming our tax codes and improving our economy to give every American his or her fair share, and working to restore America's standing in the world has never been an exclusively Republican or Democratic value. Nor does it have to be a Republican or Democratic agenda. I am not proposing a welfare state, nor socialized healthcare; all I am asking for is a fair shot and equal share for every American who works hard to live the American ideal and the American Dream. We have a personal stake in the enduring American promise -- that if you work hard, that if you obey the laws and live by the common values that bind us, you will not be left in despair and that you will be able to live a decent life. That if you served this nation in uniform, you will not be left in poverty and homelessness, on a street corner or under a bridge. That while the government cannot give you everything it will not leave you with nothing. And that America still remains the beacon of hope and opportunity in the world.

We also have a personal stake in the injustices are committed in Darfur, in the oppression of democratic voices in Iran, in the human rights violations in Guantanamo or in Beijing, in the spread of disease half-way around the world, in the melting of ice caps in the North Pole or the South, and in the rising of waters in our seas. These are not "your" problems or "their" problems, these are our problems and we all have a moral obligation and personal interest in working to solve them.

Perhaps one of the best ways we can impact the direction of our future is by participating actively in the electing the next president of the United States. The President and the Congress unequivocally carry great sway in the direction of our nation and the free world.

The challenges we face require better than a broken government and a "with us or against us" mentality. It requires progressive and assertive leaders who have the right judgment and the right vision to move this country -- and the world -- in the right direction. We need not the politics of the past but the promise of the future. Regardless of what candidate you support or what party you identify with, regardless of what faith you follow or what ethnicity you belong to, you are called upon by the urgency of our challenges and the promise of the future to do your part in making our nation and the world a better place.

The solutions we seek and the ideals we fight for will require more than one election to achieve. But, we can and we will undeniably make progress if we are willing to work for it. And that -- no matter how small--will be a step in the right direction.

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