I Want In

This summer, I re-discovered a site that provides access to ALL of the seasons of The West Wing, which was my favorite TV show in high school. As the name suggests, it's a show about the White House, specifically the senior staff and the president (all fictional. Hey- it was an NBC primetime drama.) But the creator and writers were brilliant, so it still teaches viewers about how government works. I've actually learned what staffers are supposed to do, and how the President and Congress work with and around one another.

I've become so caught up and well-versed in that world that I want to know how it translates to the real world. On television, I could recite all of the characters and their jobs. I don't know who is running the real-life United States.

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When I come home and find Dad in front of the TV, he's ususually flipping between Star Trek: TNG and a half-dozen political/news shows. Tonight, I was in time for The Rachel Maddow Show. This woman is young and fiesty, and was explaining what was going on during the Congressional summer recess. The Congressmen are at home, talking to their constituents about current legislation, such as the controversial new healthcare legislation.

The problem is that people are showing up to the town hall meetings with their representatives and verbally attacking them. Riled-up mob mentality is the dominant force at meetings where scores of people demand questions of the Congressmen, then shout and don't let them respond. It's disturbing.

America allows us free speech and the right to publicly display such negativity. But these people aren't acting independently. Paid lobbying firms are instructing dissenters on how to upset and intimidate the governmental leaders, so as to shut down legislation such as the healthcare bill. It's disgusting.

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I've decided that I want in. I'm going to do what I should have been doing for years: start paying attention. This means watching the news, watching speeches, finding out what is actually happening in the government and why. There is so much going on, yet I'm not keeping up, and many people aren't either, when really it's our responsibility to know.

For instance, I honestly don't know the status of abortion in this country. It's legal, right? What about later in the term? No? Gay marriage has been a hot topic. A few states made it legal... right? Or was it revoked? What will the healthcare plan do? What are the people I voted for doing?

I want to be more involved and knowledgeable about the government, especially at this time in history. I want to know. I want in.