Alright well I was going
to blog about the chap stick but I shared that in class so I’m not going to get
back into it. However, I am still very torn and kinda mad at myself for not
saying something. I feel like we talk all the time about what we would do in certain
situations but when it really happens we don’t act the way we think we should.
I know it is something small like a chap stick but it has me wondering if it
was something more serious would I stand up and say something?
On another note voter fraud in Texas… I listened to a
broadcast on (you guessed it) NPR. Anyways it was discussing the long list of
ways Texas has tried to combat voter fraud AKA racial discrimination! From poll
tax to ID laws to redrawing lines to reduce the impact of lower income and
minority voters, all of which have discriminated against minorities in order to
control who is elected. I recently have been trying to find out if I am
actually registered and more importantly what do I need to bring to vote. The rules
and websites are very confusing and it is difficult to understand exactly what
I need to bring so that I don’t get turned away. Well, it may or may not be surprising
but these laws are meant to be confusing. Why? Because if I am unsure what to
bring chances are I am not going to vote. Also, if I cannot present one of the 6
forms of ID I must sign a sworn statement saying I was unable to obtain one of
these forms of ID. Kinda serious right? Anyways I think these laws are completely
discriminatory and need to be changed!
Okay, on to a more positive note. I am feeling a lot more
capable of understanding what is going on around me. At first and still at
times, the news, laws, and policy seems so overwhelming and hard to follow but I
am slowly becoming more and more confident in my understanding. Before I began
this class I was so afraid to have an opinion because I knew nothing. I still
have so much to learn but I am starting to feel like I can get behind some
ideas and oppose others based on real information not something I read on Facebook.
It’s almost addicting, I want to know more and more and most of all why.
Why is there a civil war is Syria? Why are there only
8 supreme court justices? Are there supposed to be 9? And they won’t nominate a
new one and that’s making everything dead locked and they are not dealing with
real issues (sorry that’s a run on). What is the Paris agreement? Are we in it?
Is it going to help climate change? Who should I vote for? Who is running for
vice president? WFT did Wells Fargo do? Why are 50% of Haitians still effected
from the earthquake that happened 6 years ago? And what, now they have been hit
by a huge hurricane!? Classified documents from the NRA have been leaked? What
is the NRA? Alright that was a little
crazy but that is how I feel when someone tells me about Kim Kardashian being
robbed. I do have sympathy for Kim Kardashian but there are other things going
on in the world besides what Blac Chyna is going to name her baby? Sorry if
that whole thing was a run on and hard to read. Anyways I am proud of myself
for taking a step into learning about real world problems. And I am also proud
of my class for doing the same.
I agree with you, in that I find the voter ID law to be discriminatory. It is very sad that in many ways this country has come so far, and yet we still discriminate people based on their ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic status. I can only hope that our country will continue to grow, and get rid of these discriminatory laws and acts.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that this class has inspired me to listen and read more intently to the news. Before this class, I read articles on the CNN app, but I found while taking this class it was not enough. I now listen to NPR everyday while I am driving to my internship, the store, to workout, or anywhere. I feel way more knowledgeable about what is going on in the world now that I listen to NPR, read articles on the CNN app, and read articles from the Austin American Statesman. It is nice to hear someone else's view on how this class is impacting them!