Messages in Chalk

I've decided that I hate election season. I hate the useless campaign ads that bash candidates without actually saying one word about the views of the other party. I hate the lame gimmicks--the blowpops and candy bars with VOTE BLAH BLAH BLAH on them, the concerts aimed at college students. And I really hate the people who go around writing stupid things on sidewalks in hopes that it's actually going to change someone's mind about what they're going to vote on Election Day.

That's what has me more than anything right now. I'm walking back home from the library and I find the ground under my feet littered with chalk messages about all the reasons to vote democrat this election season. They read things like "It's Iraq stupid" and "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention". There's nothing about how the Democrats are going to make things better if they get elected to office. Their slurs all basically amount to the same message--Vote Democrat because it's not Republican. If that's the best they can come up with, we're totally screwed.

In a two-party system, the political parties can't deviate too far from the middle line, where the majority of voters reside. That doesn't mean that there aren't some controversial issues in the two parties platforms. Favorites this year seem to include gay rights and the abortion issue. So why can't the GW College Democrats write more messages like that on the sidewalks? You really think your chalking is going to make any difference to the people who don't know what they're going to vote come election day? You really think that by reminding people that there is a war in Iraq they're going to think to themselves, "Oh yeah. Man I forgot about that Iraq thing. I wonder how that's going to influence my vote?" Fuck no they aren't. They're going to think "Oh yeah. War in Iraq. I'm glad I'm voting for so and so." The majority of people who stop to read these dumb little messages aren't going to get anything out of them anyway.

I've been a self-proclaimed liberal since I was old enough to understand the difference between liberal and conservative . Contrary to what most people think, this DOES NOT make me a Democrat. In fact, more and more recently I've found myself agreeing with a more conservative view of international affairs--even some domestic issues. This DOES NOT make me a conservative. But the best part is, it doesn't really matter. I can think what ever I want about whatever I want. I can vote any way I please (which I just did by mail a few days ago) and I don't have to pretend to be influenced by the stupid signs people write on the sidewalks reminding people that the Democrats exist. It would really be more effective on a college campus to just write signs reminding people to vote, because I think that voter turnout is by far the larger problem to whether or not you reminded someone that the war in Iraq exists. Believe me, no one has forgotten.