Kyoto. Copenhagen. Bangkok. Little success at climate summits, little domestic action on renewable energy, and little discussion of other climate solutions in the mainstream news media seem to have left the green movement rudderless. As a young person witnessing dangerous political inaction on climate change, discussions about global warming nearly always leave me fired up but ultimately feeling powerless. This post won’t look at ways you can curb your household’s carbon footprint. Instead, I’ll investigate the implications of global warming being political anathema and the direction youth involvement should take on this issue. Continue reading
A Note from the Authors
To our readers:
May Project (the month at our school during which we’ve been writing this blog) ended last week, and we’ve been a bit busy, which is why we haven’t posted for a while. From now on, we will post a little less frequently, but we will continue to write articles for the View from Washington (Park) until (at least) mid-June. Check back starting at the end of this week for more content.
As always, thanks for stopping by.
Getting Involved
Last week, I published a post elaborating on why we here at The View from Washington (Park) feel that the youth vote does, in fact, matter in politics. While obviously I feel that voting is one of the most effective ways for young people to involve themselves in the political process, and I would hope all of our readers 18 or older have registered to vote, there are countless other ways for young people to involve themselves in the political process. The following are just a few of them.
The Legality of the Birth Control Mandate
Recently, the Catholic Church decided to sue the Obama administration as a reaction to the “birth control mandate,” which, as a part of the Affordable Care Act, requires some religiously affiliated institutions (universities, charities, hospitals, among others) to provide birth control coverage under their health care plan for their employees. Churches themselves have been exempted from the birth control requirement. In this post, I’ll take a look at the arguments from both sides and provide some commentary on this very delicate topic.
3 Takeaways from the Republican Primary
I’ve been kicking around this post for a while now. After all, Josh and I decided to write this political blog during the height of the Republican primary season, when (just for a minute or two) it seemed like Romney might not be the Republican candidate. In this post, I’ll identify three important factors in the Republican primary that could also play a role in the general election. Continue reading
Where Should Public Officials Send Their Children?
Last summer, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel made national news with his decision to send his children to private, not public school, despite his strong platform towards reforming the CPS system. Defending his decision (often testily at times) Mr. Emanuel argued that his children were part of his private life, and that he should make decisions regarding their welfare as a parent, not as mayor. His decision sparked a national conversation about how public officials should choose to educate their children. Was it ethical or appropriate, many wondered, for public officials to oversee a system that they themselves chose not to take part in? Read on to find out more.
Point/Counterpoint: NATO Protestors in Chicago
In this point/counterpoint, we will discuss a pressing political issue that recently touched all who live in the Chicagoland area: the NATO protesters. Were the NATO protests that addressed issues such as income inequality and global warming legitimate responses to the summit, which dealt with purely military issues? Were the protest methods effective? Read on to see both sides of debate. Continue reading
Shut Up and Look Pretty? On Cory Booker, Bill Maher, and the Role of a Campaign Supporter
On Sunday, Newark Mayor Cory Booker called out the Obama campaign for its “nauseating” attacks on Bain Capital. Booker, a prominent Obama supporter since early in the 2008 campaign and an individual who some think may run for President in 2016, not only took an interesting stand on the issue but posed a fascinating question: Just what is the role of a campaign supporter? Read on to find out my take. Continue reading
Why Does Rick Santorum Think I Shouldn’t Go to College?
As discussed in an earlier post, Rick Santorum has frequently critiqued the college educational system. While you can find a complete list of his attacks here, he’s notably called institutions of higher education in America “indoctrination mills,” and argued that the only reason President Obama wants every American to have the potential to attend college is that he “wants to remake you in his image.” As ridiculous as his attacks may seem, when seen as part of an ongoing conversation about the merits of a college degree, they gain greater significance. Simply put, is there a reason that young people should not go to college? In this post, I’ll be listing the primary reasons provided by critics of the college system, and then offering my own rebuttal.
The Republican Party’s “Youth Problem”
An earlier post discussed Republican success in generating young, exciting political leaders, but several other posts have noted Democratic success in rallying the youth vote. What gives? Why do young people, in general, lean left? This post will attempt to explain the Republican “youth problem.”