Opinion Columnist
Why think for yourself when you can let someone do it for you?
Obvious examples are things like being told you like burgers more than hot dogs, that you should get a dog, that voting for Barack Obama is a good idea. I get it, thinking is hard.
In my last year of high school, I started encountering these interesting creatures who let public opinion make up their mind. As we found in the 2008 Presidential election, public opinion is that Obama is a pretty cool dude.
Once again Obamaies (My own term for crazy Obama lovers), I get it, thinking for yourself is hard.
People are afraid to say they don’t like Obama, because if you don’t like Obama you’re automatically a racist. Obamaies don’t want to take time or go through the hassle explaining that they are not really racist so they just go out and do the next logical thing, buy a “Yes We Can” shirt.
Today, it’s wrong to disagree with the majority. And while I would love to dispute it, I am not Glenn Beck and understand that the majority of Americans are in favor of Obama. But do you think that maybe for a second there could be a relation between to the fact that college kids are gaga for Obama, and the fact that he won in a landslide over Republican John McCain? Don’t try and think for yourself, I’ll just tell you.
Yes. In the 2008 Presidential election, the youth vote was one of the highest in U.S history.
Two million more youth voters turned out in 2008 than in the 2004 election.
What’s the reason behind this? Kids want to be liked, and if I learned anything in high school, it’s that kids don’t think. I am a Republican, not a racist, (I can’t wait to hear the super clever response ‘what’s the difference’) and I don’t like Obama for many reasons. The fact that he is black, isn’t even on the radar for reasons not to like him. But if you say that you don’t like Obama, everybody assumes it’s because he is black. While I have heard adults throw this claim of racism around, kids are easily the biggest committers of this act.
No one wants to be called a racist. Its not fun, I know. Obamaies are just kids that pretend like they know about politics, and want to be liked. Being an Obama lover is like becoming a vampire, once your bit, you turn into one. It’s a very scary process. You find yourself wearing an Obama button (seriously? Who wears buttons anymore) and then it happens, you start defending the man you, at one time, weren’t even aware had done anything.
Being an Obamaie is scary, and there are ways to prevent it. If you know someone at risk of becoming an Obamie talk to them, reach out, let them know they are not alone in questioning a do-nothing President. Let them know that they aren’t required to scream “Yes we can” all day, every day to be loved.
Unfortunately, if you or a loved one have already drank the Obama Kool-Aid, I have yet to find a cure. All you can do for these people is be as supportive as possible in their time of confusion.
Tony, there are some serious issues with your logic here. Honestly, it’s a stretch to even consider this incoherent diatribe as having elements of logic whatsoever. It’s an opinion piece, sure, which makes the form and function markedly different from that of, say, a news story, but I wouldn’t be far off in saying your argument lacks any factual evidence, eschews reason and rationality, contradicts itself (or at least you openly contradict yourself in the process), and makes blatant judgments and generalizations without, again, even the slightest bit of data to back up your claims. And in terms of structure, your piece is a complete mess; it reads more like the random journal entry of someone who just doesn’t like Barack Obama and feels that the only way to express that is by making the argument that voting for Obama must have been a mindless decision or a decision predicated on the collective decisions of others around you. And to be fair, I’m not a liberal; I’m not even a democrat. I hold more progressive views than conservative ones, but I’m a registered independent. On to your first claim: “Why think for yourself when you can let someone do it for you?” Well, the examples you follow up with are a little suspect. Who, exactly, makes the choice for us between burgers and hot dogs? Between getting a dog and not getting one? Between voting for Obama or voting for (at the time) McCain? Fast food advertising is often persuasive in terms of food choice, sure, but that’s not reason enough to “claim” that people aren’t “thinking for themselves.” So, really, being told that “voting for Barack Obama is a good idea” is no different that someone else saying, “voting for John McCain is a better idea than voting for Barack Obama.” So that claim doesn’t stand up. Next: “As we found in the 2008 Presidential election, public opinion is that Obama is a pretty cool dude.” Ok… and your point is what exactly? I guess you found John McCain’s openly public temper, cold demeanor, and overall detachment from reality during his campaign and through the debates laudable? Part of Obama’s campaign was to make himself “likable” as a politician to not only the voting adults but also the generation of young voters who, for the first time in their lives, had a say in what they wanted from a President. Again, there’s a flip side to your claim that you ignore. Next: “Once again Obamaies (My own term for crazy Obama lovers), I get it, thinking for yourself is hard.” Obamaies? Really? Everyone who voted for or even likes the president has been reduced to an “Obamaie”? That’s the kind of ridiculous name to attach to those who differ in opinion from you because it’s cutesy and funny sounding and easier to do than to make an actual cogent argument. And yes, you’re partially right about one thing: thinking for yourself IS hard! Why? Because it’s so much easier to let outside ideology make your personal choices for you; this is not new to politics, so you should also know that while there may have been a number of individuals voting for Obama because “others” were doing it, the same can (and must) be applied to McCain voters. In fact, there’s a movement going on right now within a sect of the Republican party that will vote for ANY Republican as the next president if it means unseating Obama. This is not representative of the party as a whole, but hopefully you understand that it wasn’t a single, collective party-wide decision for any and all Democrats to vote for Obama simply because it meant getting a Democrat in the White House. One last claim you made and then I’ll wrap this up: “People are afraid to say they don’t like Obama, because if you don’t like Obama you’re automatically a racist.” Really? I thought we lived in a democracy… where we choose and vote for our leader…? Since when did we turn into a fascist state? Since when did Big Brother install “telescreens” and force us to be devoid of thought and reason? Last time I checked, that would be NEVER. For a democracy, we’re hugely influenced by our culture and societal shifts, but, yet again, you’re simply generalizing. Where are your gallup polls? Where are your unbiased pie-charts? Find me one credible source that isn’t Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or any of the other talking heads on the right that can say something as ludicrous as “People are afraid to say they don’t like Obama because doing so would automatically make them a racist.” That’s a claim I’ve heard argued and perpetuated from the talking heads many times, but there is absolutely no justification behind it whatsoever. I know I’ve never been stopped on the street and randomly assailed and forced to give my opinion on the president by the Obama Police. Your opinion here is credulous, your justification non-existent, and your claims dubious at best. I’m not defending President Obama; I’m defending logical arguments grounded in opinion, which your piece substantially lacks.
Do you really think “kids” voted for Obama to be liked? Last I checked, “kids” can’t vote, and high school is over for the vast majority of voters. It is too bad that all you learned in high school, if anything, is that “kids don’t think”. I think you missed out on the point of school. I personally gained a high school education/diploma and learned TO think.
Irrational, off base, and vastly under developed.