Political Party Platforms
Bet You Didn't Know This
With Election Day just around the corner, campaigning season is coming to a close. No more debates, no more polls, and, most importantly, no more television ads taking time away from our shows. As much as some of us want this campaign to be over, we can not rush it. Who we elect as president is obviously a very important decision. So how do we know who to vote for? Is it the person with the best commercial? The candidate that wears the better tie? As easy as this would make it, we can not do that. We must look at each party's platform and see which one lines up the closest with our views.
Personally, I like to look at the smaller, less-known details of the campaign. To me, these little, but still important, views are the most interesting. They do not receive their fair share of time in the media, so I shall dedicate this blog to them.
1. Space- America's lead in space is being challenged by other countries attempting to surpass NASA. The Republican Platform wants to sustain our dominance in space by launching more scientific missions, in order to preserve our national security and foster innovation. I completely agree with this stance. This will create more jobs, and I feel it will create a greater sense of nationality. Look at how proud the USA was when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, or when Curiosity landed on Mars. Isn't that what we need, more curiosity? I say keep it up. Shoot for the stars. Pun completely intended.
2. Immigration- The Democratic Platform wants to pass a bill that brings illegal immigrants out of the shadows and requires them to get right with the law. They will have to learn English and pay taxes in order to get on the path to becoming a citizen. I do not know how I feel about this one. Sure, everyone has the right to become an American. In fact, our country is built on immigrants. But if we get an overflow of immigration, it will just ruin the economy by putting more and more people out of work. I like that this bill will require the illegal immigrants to become citizens and pay taxes, but maybe there should be a limit on how many people can immigrate in each year.
3. Internet- We all love it. Well, those that have it love it. The problem is that not everyone who needs it has it, and not everyone who has it needs it. The Republican Platform supports rural areas to the internet so that they too can participate in the global economy. I think this is a great idea. It will create jobs, as people need to build the computers they will receive, the cell towers they will use, and don't forget about tech support. As long as we don't outsource it.
4. Tribal Sovereignty- The Democratic Platform states that American Indian and Alaska Native tribes are sovereign self-governing communities, with a unique government-to-government relationship with the United States. I found this one interesting. I knew about reservations before, but i never knew that Native Americans had their own governments. I find it odd that we are not trying to assimilate with the Native Americans, seeing as we live within the same country as them.
If you're like me, you had no idea about most or all of these. Maybe it changed who you're voting for! Probably not. After all, this is just a blog from a high school student. But hopefully you learned something.
