The Youth of the Nation

I was told by my professor this morning to come up with a topic that I was passionate about and blog it. As a journalism student I’ve always been told that being objective and unbiased is the best way to report the news ethically. At least that’s what I thought until I took Journalism 3098: Interactive Media and the Election with Rick Hancock. He has told our class that by adding your intuition and perspective of a certain topic you are not taking away from the validity of the piece actually shedding light on the truth of the story.

A topic I’m passionate about? The election. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Making sure Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) and Gov. Sarah Palin do not get the opportunity to lead this country down the path they deem appropriate.

The funny thing is I knew nothing about politics nine months ago. I was apathetic, not registered to vote, and unenthusiastic about anything going on outside of the sports page or, occasionally, the arts and leisure section. I had always thought that George W. Bush and his cabinet were the main reason for the slow decline of our country in the last eight years but like many people my age I felt there was little or nothing I could do to change that. See, the only president I can actually remember being elected is Bush. Other than Clinton’s impeachment scandal, the only president I remember seeing on television is Bush. The only way I remember our nations being viewed by other countries in the world is under the Bush administration. Do you really blame my age group for being apathetic? I certainly don’t. Or at least I didn’t, until I saw a candidate that I along with a multitude of others my age strongly feel can put this country back on track again.

Before Obama officially announced that he was running for the presidency, Students for Barack Obama, a group started on Facebook by students, had organized a rally for him at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. The rally was a huge success and was run completely by the students of GMU. This was just a taste of the kind of impact the 18-25 year old demographic could have on this election. Check out the video of the speech he gave that day below.

This rally catapulted and energized his entire campaign, and was the first rally he attended after he announced he was running. When the students began to put things together for the event, it was uncertain if Obama would be running for President or even if he would be able to show up. Having something to believe in can make people do amazing things, such as a bunch of 18-22 year olds launching a political event that RunObama.com blog author Adam Conner noted as ”something you expect to see towards October of an election year rather than February of an off-year.”

Months after the primaries and caucuses have been finished, Obama is still rolling along largely in part to the youth of this country that are pushing for change. This will be the theme of my blog this semester. Anything that the youth of this country are doing to push for the Obama/Biden ticket will be analysed and my personal expertise will shed light on the truth about this election.

Alex J. Martin