Choice for the Choiceless

It’s that time again. Political ads frame segments of your favorite television show. Signs pop up in yards, inspiring rage or camaraderie. Bumper stickers become ubiquitous. I have only been eligible to vote in one election in my short life and have only been tuned in to three, but already I’m growing battle-weary. And I sense this same fatigue among many of my generation. We often hear that the youth vote is in the tank for Obama. But what we don’t hear a lot is that the youth vote isn’t as excited as it was four years ago. In fact, a Gallup poll this summer reported that only 58 percent of the 18-29 demographic plans to vote this year.

This is our future that is being debated. This is our country, our leaders, our government. And yet, there is a sense of helplessness.

I watched two debates this week: the first presidential debate and “The Rumble 2012.” The presidential debate was first, and within five minutes I was already yelling at the screen and fiercely regretting my decision. And I was not just shouting at Romney (full disclosure, I’m one of those youth voters who will be ticking the box for Obama this year, though my reasoning behind that is more complicated than one might expect which we’ll get to later). I was shouting and shaking my fist because both candidates were up there delivering false or exaggerated sound bites rather than honestly addressing the real problems that are facing our country. Romney was proclaimed the winner, and fact checkers everywhere revealed the gross exaggerations and blatant lies that won him the debate. They also revealed a smaller though not insubstantial number of lies and gross exaggerations from Obama.

”The Rumble” was an online, live-streamed debate between Jon Stewart of The Daily Show and Bill O’Reilly of The O’Reilly Factor. Although it was less formal than the presidential debates, and largely intended for entertainment rather than substance, it brought up a number of interesting and complex issues. What intrigued me the most were the audience questions that were read in the final segment of the debate. Many of these questions addressed the issue of trust. Why should we vote for Obama over Romney? Or Romney over Obama? How can we trust either presidential candidate? They both lie. They are both vying for the job of commander in chief of the largest military in the world, leader of arguably the only remaining superpower, the position called “most powerful man in the world,” and “leader of the free world.” High stakes lead to high risks. How can we believe that either candidate or either party can be trusted with our future?

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The Resurgence of Sexism

A sermon, first posted on YouTube in March, recently made headlines when Fox News host Kirsten Powers protested participating in a panel on Sean Hannity's show with Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, who delivered the sermon. Hannity serves as a member of the board of Reverend Peterson’s organization, Brotherhood Organization for a New Destiny (BOND).

The first time I saw the video of Peterson’s sermon about women’s rights, I had to walk away for a few minutes. I didn’t even know where to begin. This sermon is riddled with some of the most hateful, condescending sexism I have ever heard. As a woman in her twenties, I have been blessed to grow up in a culture that, for the most part, accepts me as a whole, functioning, and valuable member of society. I was never told as a child that I couldn’t do science or math because I was a girl. One of my friends in elementary school wanted to be the first female president and no one told her “you can’t do that.” I have been accepted and supported every step of the way. I have been called equal.

But as I’ve grown older and have experienced more, I’ve realized that sexism is far from dead. It’s not something we should sweep under the rug and pretend is a thing of the past. We need to confront people like Rev. Peterson, even if those people are unlikely to change their opinions, because the message needs to be repeated loud and clear: women are not second-class citizens... 

Read more at The Inclusive: http://theinclusive.net/article.php?id=660