Teetering barrel on edge of cliff
I truly did learn a lot from former Pennsylvania Senator Allen Kukovich when he spoke yesterday at Seton Hill University. He urged new and experienced voters alike to go out and vote again and to continue doing so in the future.
Being a new voter this year myself, I was wondering exactly how I was going to make up my mind on which candidate to vote for. Well, I was very lucky that one of my friends was thinking that same exact thing and actually had the courage to ask Kukovich. It really impressed me that he told us to look at everything we could, though especially the political debates. "Getting the chance to judge one's demeanor," said Kukovich when speaking on the fact that one might be able to readily discern a candidate's sincerity by paying attention to said candidate during a debate.
As he continued on in his speech, Kukovich told us that other states were currently experimenting with longer voting times or same-day voting and registration practices. This could be especially helpful to those who work during the times that the polls are open or completely forget to register until the last minute. Changing the voting policies could possibly help to alleviate voter apathy and actually encourage people to vote. Let's call it voter friendly registration and voting!
Kukovich also spoke on the fact that our way of governing may have to change a bit in order to continue working effectively (if it even really is now). He found it deplorable that people thought not voting made a statement, but if you don't vote...how are you ever going to change anything? Socrates is believed to have taught three main rules on laws when imprisoned and awaiting execution:
- You can obey the law.
- You can try to change the law. (Voting in our case)
- You can leave and go elsewhere.
I believe in these three points, it simply remains to be seen what will happen in such a politically charged election. Who knows, maybe it's time for us to stop trying to set patches over leaking areas in the barrel and make a new one. There's no guarantee that it'll be better, but what's the point in not trying?
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Way to sum things up with Socrates! The message of Kukovich is hard to miss when worded so plainly yet eloquently in that classic idea.
I also found your comments on Kukovich's ideas about a candidate's demeanor interesting. I think I may have missed that part when I had to leave early, but I like the idea he's getting at (if I'm understanding it correctly). Today, when people are placing so much emphasis on a candidate's stance on an issue, I think it's important to take a step back and realize that the sense of sincerity or trust we get from a candidate can't be totally ignored. Of course it's right to say that a vote shouldn't be based solely upon the fuzzy feelings we might get from one candidate over the other, but our gut feeling shouldn't be ignored either.
To make reference to another classical Greek idea, the persuasive methods of pathos, ethos and logos all feed off of one another; that is, emotional appeal and speaker credibility play an important role in conveying a logical message.
I really liked the points from Socrates, and I agree with them. While I support voting and am registered, etc. The best way to change the law here is to get arrested for breaking it, hire a high powered attorney adn take it to the supreme court in hopes that they'll rule it unconstitutional. The last time the legislative branch of the government overturned a bad law was when they repealed prohibition. Miranda v. Arizona, Roe v. Wade and Brown v Board of Education have changed laws far more than congress.