I didn't get to hear all of it, since I was driving home from school at the time, but I got to hear a few words from the President's State of the Union Address and the subsequent Democratic response.
Let me say that I'm not too hopeful for the prosperity of our country as a result of hearing these speeches.
I would really like to see more money spent on education in the US. I think that if the politicians really cared about the future of the country, they would concern themselves more with the upbringing of future workers, businessmen, and politicians.
Instead, that money (which doesn't really exist when you look at our national debt) it going toward training of prison parolees and medicare. Sure, prisoners that have been rehabilitated should be given the chance to reintegrate themselves, but not at the cost of educating our children, who have not yet committed any crimes.
And sure, older folks need healthcare, but not at the expense of our children (read also as "us") who, when they enter the workforce, will contribute as much as a quarter of their earned wages toward providing medical care to people they probably don't know.
I can't think of any way to solve these problems with the current administration, or any administration that has the potential to take office in the next 5 years.
Paradoxically, one thing that I think really needs to take place is that younger voters need to become more aware of today's issues that will impact them only when they come about half way to retirement. Of course, how would they know to bother if they haven't been educated in this regard?
Rock The Vote is not the complete answer. Rock The Vote seems to be an effort to rally kids to vote, but doesn't seem to bother to educate them on the issues about which they will be voting. I know too many people in school who voted for a certain candidate simply because it's what their parents did. Maybe Rock The Vote is a good starting place for more information, though.
I'm going to spend some time looking for a "youth" political organization. I want to be involved somehow in getting our kids to turn our country in the right direction for issues that will matter to all of us in the future.
