"Oh baby, baby it's a wild world"

I'm not going to lie, when I was a freshman in high school journalism and politics were not on my mind. Sure, I was in American History where I memorized facts about the three branches of government and tried to have intelligent conversations, but let's face it: I was clueless when it came to real politics.

I became aware of this fact today during Journalism 101, where we watched a grad-student produced film entitled "How Ohio Pulled It Off". Now, I could go on and on about the smart and well-organized journalism that went into this piece or the amazing amount of appropriate footage collected, but what really made this film memorable to me was that it made my blood-boil.

Four years ago (when I was shielded from the complex problems of the government in my conservative hometown), millions of black, underclass voters were denied the access to vote due to limited polling booths. Hopeful voters waited in line anywhere from 3 to 7 hours to vote and countless were turned away due to lack of time, mysterious "you're name is not on our list" incidents, and even threats (not to mention the amount of people who came, saw the line, and left). With a Republican Secretary of State (Blackwell) who undeniably pulled for Bush, nothing was done to prevent or right this wrong. 

Although it is obvious that if it had not been for this situation, we could currently be living with a Bush-free government, it is nearly pointless now to take action. What I wonder, however, is : what will they do this year to alter the results of the election?  I mean, I think of myself as a fairly clever person but I know that I would have never thought that doing away with a poll booth or two would turn our "democracy" upside down; so, what will they do this time?

I would like to think that I can trust what's going on in my country, but it has lately become evident to me that most politicians work to benefit either (1) themselves or (2) their constituents. What does this mean? What is being done is not focused on what is best for the nation, but on who it benefits in election. I understand, but do not agree with this process.

That's all I have for now. If you have the documentary channel, I recommend checking out "How Ohio Pulled It Off" at eight p.m. on Monday night.