I would disagree with what the article said, that Americans vote against their own interests "because they resent having their interests decided for them by politicians who think they know best." I think that people vote against their own interests because of the heavily divisive structure of the United States' political system. If a full-blooded republican from Texas doesn't have good health care, and could possibly get better coverage by voting for a Democrat, I believe he would not do so simply because of the stigmas associated with voting for a democrat. I think that both registered republicans and democrats have a dangerously unproductive and nonsensical notion of the other party as bad people, and themselves as good people.
So basically what I am trying to say is that I think our political system of bipartisanship is totally outdated. There are ways we could have a better, more efficient democracy, yet Washington fails to do anything because the representatives there are so cozy and afraid of change. The people in Washington who have the power to change things for the better do not do so because it is not in their interests. Just look at how ludicrous and inefficient congress is. They argue and argue about trivial things and make policies and vote based on personal agendas and not on what is in the best interest of their constituents. All that politicians care about is being re-elected, so when they are in situations where they know that there is a right and wrong, good and bad, decision, they will make the decision that will get them re-elected, even if it is clearly the bad decision. Ideologically, one would say that it is good that the representative only makes decisions based on whether it wil lget them re-elected because it is symbolic of that politicians' constituents approval, but in today's age of politics, money is a huge factor that affects the efficiency of this process. Corporations and wealthy individuals make substantial contributions to the politician of their choice, which funds the advertising campaigns of that specific candidate. That candidate will therefore skew their policy decisions more to the interests of those corporations and individuals than to ordinary voters. This is because by serving the interests of the wealthy corporations and individuals first, they will then simply get the money necessary to persuade and attract the rest of the voters, regardless if that candidates decisions were in those voters best interests or not.
Obama's recent state of the union address sickened me. To see our representatives so clearly divided between democrats and republicans is wrong because the issues at hand are not black and white issues. We need more collaboration in our government. We need our representatives to go after the issues and not be so politically minded. Maybe it is time we restructure Washington.

I totally agree with you that people need to travel more and explore this world. I think traveling is such an enlightening experience that makes people more compassionate towards others, more accepting, less afraid, and definitely more inspired to do good and be good.

When I decided that I was going to study abroad someone gave me the best piece of advice I may have ever gotten, and I can't even remember who it was who told me. But what they said was "You should study abroad in a place where you don't think you would otherwise ever travel to or live." And with that piece of advice, I decided to study in Singapore, a country I couldn't even locate on a map the first time I heard of their study abroad program.

I have to admit, as the date of departure neared I was getting progressively more scared. What if the kids who go to Singapore on study abroad are weird since its such a weird place to study? What if I can't make friends with other international students? What if I'm all alone for 5 months in a foreign country with strange and unfamiliar people as far away from home as I can possibly get?

When my final week before departure came I started freaking out even more. I remembered back to the time when I went with my parents to the West Coast to look at the University of Washington as a perspective school. My expectations were high, I loved everything I had read about the university and was sure it was the perfect fit for me, but when I got there I actually experienced culture shock. I never had any idea that there were so many Asian people living in Seattle and who attended that university, and it admittedly made me uncomfortable. I had never been around so many people of a different race, and quite frankly it overwhelmed me.

But that was just another reason why I decided it was a good idea for me to study in Singapore. As a white, I would be a minority and completely surrounded by Asian people, the people who freaked me out so badly on that vacation. And in the week before my departure, I started wondering if it was going to happen again, but to an even worse degree.

Turns out, I had the time of my LIFE in Singapore. It was by far the best decision I have ever made, and one that I am proud of. I lived and studied in Singapore, a country that is composed of a diverse mix of Chinese, Indians, Malays, Indonesians, and to my surprise some Europeans. I traveled throughout Southeast Asia with a tight group of friends who were also studying abroad. We composed of 2 white guys from Penn State, 2 Chinese guys from Houston, 2 Indian-Americans (one guy one girl), 1 Iranian-American, 4 Norwegians (two guys two girls), one kid from Nepal, and a French Canadian. I had never had a non-white friend who wasn't from the northeast, and to my surprise and pleasure, I learned that the world is a beautiful place with beautiful people who in today's world have the opportunity to come together and do beautiful things. Everyone should take advantage of this!!! Study abroad should be mandatory (and financial reasons are no excuse, my plane tickets, semester in Singapore, and my subsequent travels combined cost me LESS than spending one semester at Penn State!)

hi

These two shameless jerks have sold their souls and their dignity just to make a buck. Whether or not they believe all the trash that has come out of their mouths over the years I have no way of knowing, but the sheer amount ignorance between the two is appalling. I’m also not very happy with the networks that air these two guys. The media today holds a great deal of power and influence in society and should thus be held to a certain degree of accountability.
However, on the opposite side of this, we have seen a great deal of the media taking advantage of its power to influence the situation in a very positive way. The amount of money that the media has influenced people to donate to Haiti relief is remarkable. Equally remarkable is the courageous reporting that has been going on, particularly from Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta, both of CNN. Both have completely dedicated themselves to the cause of helping the people of Haiti as they have worked tirelessly over the past week to get the story out. In addition to doing their jobs as reporters, they have also managed to help in other ways. Cooper risked his own safety by running into a violent mob to assist a boy who was hit in the head with a cinderblock. The kid’s face was covered in blood and he was clearly in shock, and Cooper was there to swiftly pick him up and run him to safety. Sanjay, a neurosurgeon, has been acting as a “doctor first” and has been assisting anyone he can. Particularly, he performed brain surgery on a woman to remove a chunk of cinderblock from her skull. However, he has been aiding many others as well.
The point is, on the one side of the media we have these two villains, Robertson and Limbaugh. However, on the other side, we have two men who have acted as legitimate heroes. Cooper and Gupta are examples of the potential amount of good that media can bring, their work has truly made a profound difference in regards to the situation in Haiti. Their reporting has shown the world how grave the situation is, and how much help Haiti needs.
That being said, maybe we have found a new use for media. Instead of having old talking heads rambling on about their delusional ideologies that only inspire prejudice, hate, and backwardness, maybe the major media outlets will feel inspired to do good by media. Maybe instead of relentlessly pursuing a profit by getting the highest ratings possible, maybe, just maybe, they will begin to draw the line and get rid of these evil, yes evil, men.