On a personal note: Why I blog

I started this site on March 31, 2004 in hope of doing something proactive to help get George W. Bush out of office, as opposed to just sitting on the sidelines as usual.  I got such a positive response that I decided to keep at it after the election.  From the GOP's effort to cut guaranteed benefits for seniors by dismantling our Social Security system, to the Iraq war, to Katrina, to the debate about common sense energy reform, I have tried my very best to add some depth to the news stories that the traditional media barely touched on each day.

Relatively speaking, I am a new guy when it comes to following politics.  But on September 11, 2001, just two weeks before I began my college career as an 18-year-old, I reevaluated my previously materialistic outlook on life.  The prosperity of the latter Clinton years produced a lot of high school students, such as myself, whose defining concerns rested more on who was performing at the next VMA's than who we elected into office to serve at the pleasure of taxpayers.  Until 9/11, I had a very sensationalized view of reality.

After the attacks on America, a light went on and I started to follow politics.  I thought about switching my affiliation to Republican because for about three months I was a die-hard Bush supporter.  Once the emotion wore off and objectivity slowly set in, I watched Bush squander our worldwide support, and use 9/11 to fulfill the desires of a Vice President who spent the previous 30 years being disgruntled about the depreciation of Executive power immediately following Watergate.  Each day, I noticed examples of hypocrisy.  I asked the same questions that many other young people were asking:

• If the GOP stands for smaller government, how come they increased federal spending and passed the Patriot Act?
• If Al Qaeda is our enemy, how come we took resources out of Afghanistan and put them in Iraq?
• How come our leaders chose not to inform the American public about the differences between Al Qaeda and the Iraqi Ba'ath Party?
• If the media has a left-wing bias, then how come they didn't ask the tough questions in the run-up to war with Iraq?
• As democratic citizens, how are we emboldening the enemy by having a substantive disagreement with the President regarding foreign policy?

Eventually, I took action and started this site in 2004.  Within a short span of time, when you combine daily blogging with my political science studies at the University of Washington, I quickly transformed myself into a politically savvy young adult (although the hate mail I receive each day informs me otherwise).

I graduated in December in 2006, and was thankful for my studies in political science and American history because they gave me a sense of hope that no matter what comes our way, we can look to our past mistakes and learn from them.  Today, I work off and on as a political contractor (I like "operative" better because it increases my chances of being outed).  I hope to continue this site, regardless of what I choose to do in politics.  When I was younger, I had no idea that it would be this fun to read and write each day.

To all the young people out there, please at least consider studying political science in college.  If not a major, then at least minor in that field.  You might not realize the extent of it now, but you are growing up at the same time that our nation is at a crossroad.  We need you.  Years from now, historians may look back at generation-y, our generation, and compare us to the World War II generation -- not in terms of bravery, but due to the challenges that lie before us.  The National Debt, international peace, our constitution and the future of populist democracy in the world are all at stake.  What becomes of those four issues in the next ten years will make or break our future.  There is good news.  The future is in our hands more than ever before because of the power of the internet.  Ordinary people, from Seattle to Beijing, have the power to make a difference.  That is why I encourage younger people to get involved.  That is why I blog.

Comments

[Steve Johnson]

Great post. Ever since I started blogging (only a few months ago) I've found these types of posts to be very interesting. It's nice to see what motivated others to take it up.

[Chief Editor: Todd]

What's the name of your blog, steve?

[Steve Johnson]

The Online Scribble.

[Ray]

this is a great post in which i can relate to almost perfectly. i grew up in a house of conservatives so i always kind of leaned to the right but tried really hard to keep my own opinion instead of just listening to my parents. but after 9/11 i was very pro bush and believed everything he said. but instance after instance where more hypocracy was released, i just cant support that any more. i mean the whole arguement against kerry during the election was the whole flip flop thing and i still agree that its a horrible characteristic of a president. but now bush is 20 times worse.