By Harry Pearse
Staff Writer
The Midterm elections have just passed here in America, where the Republicans hold the majority of the seats in Congress. This is extremely controversial, seeing as President Obama is a Democrat. Is this going to affect the amount of power he has? Will it affect the initiatives the Democrats planned to introduce when he was elected for a second term? These are some of the concerns and questions the American public has; however, do international students at Post ask these questions? This is what I wanted to find out.
Politics: some consider it as one of the most important things in the world, in terms of keeping societies together. But does everyone think like this? In terms of my own beliefs (which I love to provide, by the way), I feel that no matter how I think the government should be run, or how certain issues should be handled, my opinion will never be heard or acted upon. In our generation, people don’t bother with politics because of this apathy. But as I have preached these words to those people who are involved, they have replied, “Well, if everyone thought like this, nothing would ever get done.”
That is why I do feel inclined to stay up-to-date with the political affairs going on, for example the Midterm elections here in the States. I have read up on and heard a lot about it, and I want to understand the process as well as what has happened. This is also the vibe I got when I spoke to a few international students. Although they cannot vote here in the U.S., they feel as though they should keep up-to-date with the politics that goes on here, especially when it comes to elections.
Mari Eik, a sophomore Psychology major, has great knowledge of what’s happened in the Midterm elections, as well as some knowledge on how the American political system works. We spoke about how, or if, things will change due to the recent ”gob-smacking” elections where the Republicans won the most seats in both houses of Congress. Eik mentioned that she doesn’t think much will change. This was in a discussion where there were three or four people in putting thoughts in to the conversation, all of which were international students from Europe. This shows that there is, in fact, many international students that have an interest in the American political system, as well as their own.
In the LIU Post men’s soccer team, which is dominantly filled with international students, most of the players are educated about the politics surrounding them here in the United States. After having many conversations with a few players, I have come to learn individual theories, conspiracies, and thoughts on a few different matters. They have all identified and said they feel it is important to understand political systems, as well as being tuned-in on present political events.
The message I want to make clear here is: although you may not agree with what a government stands for, it is extremely important to keep up with the events and affairs that are happening at the political level. After all, politics is what runs the world, right?
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