Last night I exercised my authority as a democratic citizen of the city of Philadelphia and voted in the Municipal Primaries. They'll most importantly decide who will run for District Attorney and Controller.
While I'm not going to pretend that all my information came from the morning's Metro (and that I made my decision that morning based on a one-page feature), I will say that it made me feel important and proud to walk into that booth and do my civic duty. Especially since not many people vote in the primaries, let alone even know that they're occurring unless they've been paying attention to local news. (American Idol fans take note - there is more to life than that banshee Adam Lambert.)
Preliminary results
Ever since the presidential primaries, I've made it a point to keep up on news and politics. It's something I never did before, but it is truly empowering and makes me feel like I'm an involved citizen of the country, rather than just a resident who never really cared to know how things worked. Not to mention it gives me great fuel for starting conversations, though it probably makes me seem a little pretentious if other people have no idea what I'm talking about. Oh well. A little confidence never hurt anyone, did it?
Today, though, I read about how the president is likely to sign a bill that would allow concealed weapons in national parks. Not so Obama-like, I know. But it makes more sense when you know that this measure is tagged onto a larger bill that regulates credit card companies - something that Obama's been pushing for a few days now.
I guess that's what's known as an "earmark". It would be like if your mom announced she was going to the store to get diapers, and your dad chirped after her, "Can you also go to the liquor store and get me a handle of vodka?" The actions are competely unrelated, yet your dad knows your mom is likely to go out and buy things, so he just figured he'd put in a good word for vodka.
Even as I try to understand politics, I realize there will still be things that puzzle me. But one thing I understand more and more is that politics does not exist as a straightforward, regulated entity, rather it's an intricate game people have to learn to play in order to be successful.
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1 comment:
Ah, tagalong measures that have nothing to do with bills. I'm proud of you for being so aware and involved!
Also I had NO idea about that concealed weapons thing, and I know my Congressman is supporting the credit card bill. Good to know...of course nobody in my district would ever call us about it because those folks are pro guns in every way possible. Except this one guy...he was outraged about people giving guns to babies. What a pansy.
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