We all know about the C-SPAN article, and we all know that it did an awful job of representing our school. It also made the three of us who were quoted look pretty unintelligent, so I would like to explain what I meant by my quotes.
My quote saying that Congress was "just a bunch of white dudes fighting" was taken from the tail end of a much longer string of content which Ms. Colias chose not to include. The quote she put in the paper was tacked on at the end of this content as a half-joking summary of what I said. What I meant was that Congress today is full of senators and representatives who don't appear to care much about solving issues or getting things done. How often on the news do we hear about proposed bills getting shot down or votes that go nowhere? In 2013 the government shut down for two weeks in order to discuss the federal budget and what they were supposed to do about the massive amount of debt we're in. After two weeks it appeared that no meaningful, long-term solution was reached.
Why, after two weeks of debating and trying to figure things out, did we not see any progress? Why are bills constantly getting blocked in either the House or the Senate? How come there's so much debating and campaigning going on even though the next presidential election isn't for another two years? It's because politicians are so divided along party lines. They are more concerned about keeping their party in power and making sure only bills that go along with their party's beliefs as a whole get to become laws. This means that almost nothing is getting done because both sides's voices are equally loud. They drown each other out and bring everything to a stand still. From my point of view, it looks like a miracle when they agree on anything, and when you watch news coverage about politics, it looks like just a bunch of old, white guys fighting.
I am concerned about politics and I do want to learn more about how our government functions so I can understand why nothing is getting done. When I turn 18 it's my full intention to vote in elections, but I can't right now. Right now all I can do is watch the news and try to follow what's going on, and I don't like what I'm seeing. Frankly I've become pretty disenchanted with the government and what it's doing, but that shouldn't be mistaken for apathy. If I could do something about it, I would, but until then all I can do is focus on graduating and hope for the best.
(Also, I am fully aware that there are many Senators and Representatives who are women and minorities. A full third of the Senate if I'm correct.)
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