talking about politics, part 1

I've been recently catching up with my BusinesWeek readings, and stumbled upon a great refresher course on what's in America, for me, for the future.

The frontpage read: THE ECONOMICS DRIVING THE YOUTH VOTE.

And if you are in America studying, thinking about walking through Wall Street, suitcase in hand, or Broadway with a feather hat, or Silicon Valley with your geeky Google attire (I have to admit, I have one), or wherever. You might even be in another country.

Stop, and realize where you are.

On the brink of a recession? maybe. On the brink of change? maybe. But are you really in a place where the "opportunities" are endless?

Now, if you have made up your mind as to where to spend the rest of your life, good for you, and I'm happy about that.

But look, one of the things that makes or breaks what kind of a career I will have, or where I will be, is this upcoming election. See, I'm in the midst of my undergraduate education. I earn some money, I study hard, and then I look ahead, trying to find "what's in this for me". but I have no right to vote. All I can do is sit by and watch people change and perhaps get swept away by this upcoming stream of political fervor.

But I can speak up as well. And I'm going to keep it real.

Perhaps years of bad politics in Manila and better politics in Singapore has taught me one thing: If the people are not involved in their future, something's going to go awfully wrong.

What will you say? oh, the government knows what it's doing. We don't have Harvard law grads in the Cabinet for nuthin'. Well guess what, those Harvard graduates don't even know what it feels like to earn the kind of money that I'm earning.

I am grateful and thankful to God for where I am now. Good education, and hey, I earn, on a per-hour basis, much more than, I would say, the average New York college undergrad. But I speak on behalf of all college students: If any single one of those Harvard grads earned the money that we are earning, faced with the same political turmoil and career uncertainties, they would have given up altogether.

So why is it that we are less deserving of directing this ship? We are the ones who have to put up with political and military mistakes! Not you! You have the most stable jobs in America! We're never short of Cabinet members, especially if the chief needs more of them to think on his behalf.

It's just ridiculous how we're stuck in a bipartisan government (which I will talk about another time, if I feel the need to talk politics again), and everybody's categorized due to their beliefs. Red state, blue state, independent, conservative, etc.etc.

Hey, I'm as conservative as they come, but I have nothing against anything! Just give me a good environment to set up my future! I will support you.

I think more than ever, we need somebody who stands for change. And everybody knows this, because if you have been following the news, all these candidates have been "for change". But what's more important is people need somebody who will soothe and comfort the tired and weary souls of the young people, and reassure everyone else that there is something in it for them.

You can't hug everybody! Tax reforms, blah blah. What we need is somebody who can reach out to us in words. As the world gets more digitized, we need somebody who responds quickly. As depression cases rise, we need somebody light-hearted (I almost used the word "funny," but I remembered that Bush makes me laugh a lot too).

Here's a clip of a candidate who just might be able to turn things around:



Look, I watch an ENORMOUS amount of stand up comedy. And I would say Obama did a fine job here, but did not lose focus on what's really important.

Stand for change.

I'M OUT!!!