2008 Woodie Awards
Voting only way to influence country's direction
Catherine Morrisey
Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: Editorials
Forced to watch previous episodes of Grey's Anatomy as a result of the writer's strike, I have had plenty of time to relate the show's narrative to the political race of 2008.
Meredith Grey points out every person has a belief, at some point in life, that life is going to lead them to great adventures. We all have expectations, she says, "of the trails we will blaze, the people we will help, the difference we will make. Great expectations of who we will be (and) where we will go."
The life of a future president seems no different, with the exception that he or she actually has the life that fulfills the great expectations. To some degree, it's a collective effort of the country. Candidates must get up every day and sell a vision, and voters expect nothing short of inspiring - whether it be a New Frontier or a New Deal. We raise the bar on just how great these expectations should be every four years.
Yet there is underlying irony in the whole thing. We can criticize current circumstances, and even have better ideas, but most of us still don't vote. We are bombarded by millions of dollars in political advertising just so the politician can prove he or she is a good person - hell, they even kiss the babies of total strangers to prove this - but we still just don't feel the motivation to vote.
Why do we have great expectations if we have no intention of making them a reality? I would argue that we have expectations, but they may not be so great if we are willing to settle so easily. Everyone has a glimmer of optimism surge through them before an election - an invincible feeling that we can have our cake and eat it too, that the mistakes of the past will stay in the past and that politics can be personal in a good way rather than a bad way.
But, as I have mentioned, people still don't vote. The ray of light seems to fade and the moment passes us by. This is when we wake up and realize we might be ordinary rather than extraordinary, and too many of our great expectations are still unmet.
All too often I hear the excuse that voting doesn't matter because one vote doesn't make a difference. Believing your vote doesn't matter is synonymous to saying you're powerless.
No matter what your age is, you are too young to be giving up hope on your great expectations for the country. Voting may not save the country every election but truth be told, it's the only thing that has the potential.
- Catherine Morrisey is a senior history major and a Mirror columnist.
Meredith Grey points out every person has a belief, at some point in life, that life is going to lead them to great adventures. We all have expectations, she says, "of the trails we will blaze, the people we will help, the difference we will make. Great expectations of who we will be (and) where we will go."
The life of a future president seems no different, with the exception that he or she actually has the life that fulfills the great expectations. To some degree, it's a collective effort of the country. Candidates must get up every day and sell a vision, and voters expect nothing short of inspiring - whether it be a New Frontier or a New Deal. We raise the bar on just how great these expectations should be every four years.
Yet there is underlying irony in the whole thing. We can criticize current circumstances, and even have better ideas, but most of us still don't vote. We are bombarded by millions of dollars in political advertising just so the politician can prove he or she is a good person - hell, they even kiss the babies of total strangers to prove this - but we still just don't feel the motivation to vote.
Why do we have great expectations if we have no intention of making them a reality? I would argue that we have expectations, but they may not be so great if we are willing to settle so easily. Everyone has a glimmer of optimism surge through them before an election - an invincible feeling that we can have our cake and eat it too, that the mistakes of the past will stay in the past and that politics can be personal in a good way rather than a bad way.
But, as I have mentioned, people still don't vote. The ray of light seems to fade and the moment passes us by. This is when we wake up and realize we might be ordinary rather than extraordinary, and too many of our great expectations are still unmet.
All too often I hear the excuse that voting doesn't matter because one vote doesn't make a difference. Believing your vote doesn't matter is synonymous to saying you're powerless.
No matter what your age is, you are too young to be giving up hope on your great expectations for the country. Voting may not save the country every election but truth be told, it's the only thing that has the potential.
- Catherine Morrisey is a senior history major and a Mirror columnist.
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