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Winning the Fickle Vote

August 5, 2009 Front Page No Comments

2328879637_c0d2e376ff According to social scientists and political practitioners, people are less loyal to products and political parties than they were in the past…a trend that is likely to affect the next election.

Think about it…Everyone knows people who have abandoned their religion, been divorced, or changed their political affiliation. Americans today are more likely to make such important changes than ever before.

Peter Hart, Democratic pollster, found that college students are more willing to transfer schools and that 40% of Americans will change their religion at least once. Linda Lea Viken, divorce attorney, has found a clear increase in the number of divorces among the elderly, even after being married for fifty years.

So how does this affect elections? When running Howard Dean’s campaign in 2004, Joe Trippi witnessed the fickleness of Americans. After coming in third place in the Iowa caucuses, Dean lost his supporters as quickly as he gained them. According to Morris Fiorina, political science professor at Stanford University, “Obama benefited from the looser ties people have today…” (Not a surprise considering the distrust of the Bush administration.) However, “…the flip side is that he cannot count on the depth of support that a winning candidate might have had a generation ago…And, of course, if ties are looser, then change can occur faster than if the ties bind more tightly.”

After all, didn’t we learn not to trust politicians? It may not be fair to say that it’s bad to be fickle and good to be loyal. Of course, fickle isn’t exactly a positive adjective but blind allegiance isn’t something we want either. What do you think? Is it good that Americans aren’t bound to a specific politician or should we be more loyal?

Posted by:

Kiera Aaron

Why I Will NOT Be Seeing the Movie “Orphan”

July 29, 2009 Front Page 1 Comment

orphan_movie_poster “It must be difficult to love an adopted child as much as your own,” states the original “Orphan” trailer. As someone who is adopted, my only response is SERIOUSLY??? People had to complain in order for Warner Bros. to realize that this was a bad idea? No one raised their hand during that board meeting and said, Hey, maybe this might be offensive?

I’m obviously not ashamed of being adopted so I have no problem mentioning it when relevant. However, EVERY time I mention it, I can depend on being asked one question. Do you know your real parents? Ughhhh. Anyone who is adopted will know EXACTLY what I’m talking about. I know that the question is not meant to be offensive, yet it somehow implies that the family I have now, on some level, is “fake.” Like I’ve been deprived a “real” family. (I have not.)

Though the question is innocent, it definitely exemplifies a stigma; a stigma that is undoubtedly supported by the “Orphan” trailer. The trailer blatantly suggests that adopted children are less lovable than one’s “own,” just as my parents are somehow not “real.” Though the trailer may not be intentionally offensive (hopefully), they undisputedly promote the idea that a family with adopted children is inferior to one with biological children.

Such a statement, especially in today’s society, is not just offensive, it’s simply wrong. Let’s face it, there is no longer one specific familial mold. Couples get divorced; children have step-parents, step-siblings, maybe even half-siblings. Some children have parents who never married in the first place. Others may have foster-parents, adoptive parents, maybe even same-sex parents….

Thus, instead of seeing this movie, I will simply rejoice in the fact that I was not adopted by people from Warner Bros., who, for whatever reason, would not have enough love for someone who doesn’t have their DNA.