i think it's stupid
November 4, 2008 6:55 PMI think it's stupid how overprotective or biased some people can be.
The reason why most of us don't understand politics or pretend we understand politics is because we're afraid of getting it wrong.
When the fight for assuaging other people to your mindset put them in so much fear-lock that they are even afraid to formulate an opinion of their own, you have sacrificed their well-being for your supposed benefit, or goal. When your means destroy innocence but ensure the ends of tomorrow, you, my friend, take rights from myself as a human endowed to his own opinions. When your agenda conflicts with your ability to empathize with my growth and development as a human, I will judge you. When you cannot recognize that I no longer need looking out, but neither am I fully developed enough to run, I can still walk. So let me walk.
I am neither adult nor child, and neither will I embrace treatment as either of those two categories the way you expect of me, though I do tend toward adult as that is where I am rapidly approaching. You can generalize that you believe adolescents should be getting well-informed and knowledgeable; I believe that as well if that merits anything. However, when you cannot acknowledge the limits of my maturity, I am forced to take it as a personal offense that you simply sacrifice my feelings, personality, or altogether being as a human on your zealous quest to liberate those in the dark. It is rude, impersonal, and you might as well base my personality off of the fact that I am right-handed. There are people standing on the brink, ready, almost waiting to be pulled into the light. When you convince yourself that you see these people but they are actually quite accustomed to the dark and have yet to taste that desire to need to explore and find knowledge, you can only hope to spark that desire, and your wrenching of me into brightness is as traumatic as throwing me deeper into darkness. Your actions are unforgivable, this much is undeniable.
It's my opinion and belief that will overall be the deciding factor for whom I vote, even though I must say that your constant pestering and whispering in my ear do get quite annoying, but eventually may sway my opinion.
If I vote and I get 4 years of hell, shouldn't there be some consequence on my behalf that I need endure for my views? If I vote for somebody, just because my friend did, do I even have as much right to complain about the state of things as he who didn't vote?
You see, I'm all for debate and argument, but that would be fine and dandy if we were all on the same page. If you try and sway my opinion before I can even formulate one, who's to say one will even form in my mind? I'm just taking yours and saying that as my own, to hide the cold-clear truth: I don't know shit.
So I think it's stupid when I feel like I don't understand as much as I should, but other people can put in my face what they regurgitate from someone they "trust" and therefore take statement as the truth.
Isn't this what high school is about? Learning critical thinking and analysis? How the hell am I gonna do it, or even be able to begin to apply myself if half the people around me have some sparknoted version they picked up from an adult who's probably running his mouth off too and say "you're so ignorant." I am frustrated with the fact that I am not involved or as well informed as I would like to be or expect myself to be, but I am even more frustrated with the fact that you could settle for the word of one, probably quite, biased person and solidify an opinion before you even hear the candidate him/herself.
And as for the people who say this is too urgent or important of an election to go around uninformed or uninvolved, it probably is, but there's only one way to learn. I could go and pretend like I know what's happening or how the policies will work out in the real world, but at the end of the day, I will only really know when I find out. Adults who forget that at one point in their lives they were ignorant as well, should not be so quick to push the burden of knowledge and sin unto the youth around them, especially in as stressful times as now. If it were really so life-breaking and urgent, I wouldn't need you to tell me. I swear to my life I would love to care, but seeing as the fact is that I don't, that's just the way it is.
I complain because you're unfair. I complain because when you read this you will be appalled. You will see the raging hormonal teenager that I am, you will stare me in the eye apprehensively and judge me accordingly, but you will not change. I complain because you can't change. I complain because when I do cry out against your unfair burdening upon my shoulders, all you do is realize I'm a lost cause, and in your sanctified crusade, move on to the next victim of your terrible terrible mission. I pity you, rather, and I'm deeply sorrowed by the fact that you ARE so effective on those who I had respect for, but neither do I lose respect for those who do sway. I won't blame products for your mistakes, I'd rather seek to disengage the maker. So you can disregard me as the hormonal teenager that I am, mood swinging faster than you can stand up, but do not take me for ignorant in other matters. You see, therein lies your fault, and you who so precariously urge me to dispose of prejudgment and labeling, are in this quite fantastic case, a good ol' fashioned hypocrite.
Filthy, sanctimonious, hypocrite.
I really hate the connotations put with this apathetic view towards something so important and vital in my life. I just don't want to deal with it, and I'm not going to say I care out of the fear of your judgement just to conform with the rest of the landslide. You could berate me, though I would detest and spite back, but what would you achieve? If I do not care, you can prod and move me into action with vigil, but you can't make me want to wake up and move. If you wanted me to be like you, you'd let an urge or a need to be informed arouse and develop from within my being, and I would be able to seek to quench my thirst for knowledge and I could be someone like you.
In that case, perhaps, I would even be in the position to look down on somebody for chosen ignorance. I just feel like nobody is taking a stand for those who simply don't care, because this is the election of my lifetime, and I'm sure it will be in history for the years, but I'm not going to lie to latch onto the glory. The sixteen year old me will say that I saw the hype, and I saw the people that thought they were informed, and saw his share of presidential/vice presidential debates. The sixteen year old me will reminisce on Tina Fey and Sarah Palin and be able to say honestly that she was joked of every other conversation.
The sixteen year old me will not be able to say he cared. The sixteen year old me will be able to say who he would vote for, but the sixteen year old me would not be able to say why.
apathy therefore ignorance
therefore invalid opinion
because if one aspect of you is bad, how could you ever be good?
You disgust me, but above that, you hinder me.