From political correctness to politics

Ladies and gentlemen: it’s that time of history again.That’s right, the presidential election! I was only 17 duringthe last race, so this will be the first election I participate in,and I am thoroughly excited.

Someone accused me of being a liberal, as if it were such a badthing to be. If you have to put a label on it, then yes, I am aliberal. It makes me wonder what I’m doing in Texas, which ispredominantly conservative. I told my mom I was going to move toMassachusetts.

But even then, my vote wouldn’t count for much sinceeveryone there is liberal. So then I told my mom I should move to aswing state where my vote would carry more weight. By now, my momhas grown very apathetic to all my crazy ideas and antics, to thepoint where her response to everything I say or do is,”Whatever suits you dear.”

If you’ve driven through Highland Park, you’llnotice campaign signs for Martin Frost and Pete Sessions. My momand I have this long-running bet on how long our Frost sign willlast in our yard before it’s stolen or vandalized.We’ve been having problems with Frost signs being vandalizedin our neighborhood.

I think to myself, what happened to political integrity? Maybethat’s an oxymoron these days. I’m not sure what pointit proves to deface signs. It’s beyond childish, and ifanything, it reveals the true and ugly face of small-minded peoplewho feel the need to resort to such acts just because they may notagree with someone else’s opinion. I guess actions really dospeak louder than words, but they’ve got to be the rightkinds of actions, not petty vandalism.

I told someone what my next column topic would be, and thisperson remarked, “Well then I just might not read it.”It saddens me that it has to be that way. I may be at one end ofthe spectrum, but that doesn’t mean I hate everyone at theopposite end. I’m not going to play that game. That’sthe thought process of a very narrow mind.

I don’t hate conservatives. In fact, I even share similarviews with the conservative side on particular matters. Ipersonally think that in certain areas of government, such asfamily courts, we need a more conservative figure. We needconservatives just as we need liberals and all variations of thespectrum, as a form of checks and balances. We all exist as a formof checks and balances to one another, and that’s what makesour system work.

What I believe first and foremost is change. In a changingworld, with changing peoples and changing networks of powers, Ibelieve change is necessary to keep up with an ever-changing humanrace. We’re evolving. So let’s evolve. Things can onlyget better. I mean, we went from monkey to man, leaf to pimped-outGucci suits. It’s not like we can go backwards.

But that’s just me. I could be wrong. Just because you areso steadfast in your beliefs doesn’t mean you’re right,right? Right. That attitude extends to various other facets oflife, not just politics. But I’ll save my talk on religionanother day when I’m in the mood to be criticizedten-fold.

A lot of people say it doesn’t matter which way you vote,so long as you do. Well I say it does matter. Vote for what youbelieve in. Stick to principle rather than parties or people. Youcan claim to be left wing, right wing, Liberal or Conservative, butin the end, none of that matters. What matters is what you believein and how you can contribute to the betterment of society as awhole. Don’t rely on people within a group or party to tellyou what you need to believe in, how you should vote, or why theopposing party is no good.

I’m not saying don’t be this or be that. WhatI’m saying is, be what you want to be, not what you feel youneed to be, because there are already too many people out there whostill don’t know why they vote the way that they do or simplyvote the way their parents did. I’m saying be what you wantto be — Democrat, Republican, Independent or what have you— but above all, be a free thinker.

But what do I know? I’m just a humor columnist. I could bewrong. Just because I believe in something does not mean I’mright. And it doesn’t mean there’s no possibility forchange. There’s always room for change, because there’salways room for growth.

Ann Truong is a senior math and electrical engineering doublemajor. She may be contacted at [email protected].