Vermont Commons-Meditation #2

http://www.vtcommons.org/

Now I am never one to talk politics with people because I think it often brings out the anger and bitter sides of some-like my Oma- that I wish to not see. For this blog though, I will make an exception. “Beyond Barack’s Bamboozling: As Obamamania Fizzles, Vermonters Take A Fresh Look At Independence” is an article that is well written-although I did notice one spelling mistake and completely one sided. It talks about all of the negatives that Obama has done rather than showing both sides of a complex political story. I was seventeen when the elections were held, and therefore could not vote. I tried to follow the election, but most of the information was word of mouth from people in my high school, which is not generally the most sound advice on anything, let alone politics.

Card Stacking was a huge player in this article, with how the negatives about Obama were stacked up high, while the positives were never seen. This was also something that was seen in the political campaigns as well though, whether it was for Obama or McCain. I think card stacking is not just a clever media tool, but a clever political tool. I mean it is key to build your argument while tearing down your opponents. No side is lacking in this technique at all, but I think it would be better for everyone if both sides were shown equally without the negativity that usually comes with any political “conversation” (In quotes because it usually ends up being a intense argument with screaming voices and angered comments.)

Another technique that the article used quite well was the use of statistics. There were numbers of the amounts of money that was either lacking or wasted throughout the article that boosted its intelligence and reliability for me. Although 65% of statistics are made up on the spot, a news paper is not likely to put in numbers that can be easily found out using the right sources and materials. It showed research and was a large part in me believing that the article had at least some integrity to it.

There was a third technique that I found was used properly, without being overly obvious. This was group dynamics. “We have much good work ahead of us.” (Vermont Commons, pg. 6) It was used properly here, because although I am aware of these kind of tactics through taking Mass Media and Society, I thought to myself that the United States as a whole, heck even the entire world, has good work ahead of all of us. This thinking is something that is put into play a lot in the Media, especially with politics because you think of how the country thinks, rather than how you the individual think about something. You relate to certain political groups, and side with them, sometimes when they are wrong.

This article made me think about how people react about politics, what their views are and things of that nature. I mean it really made me use my brain with my emotions-Limbic-of how I should react to political conversations and situations, and made me think-Neocortex-about how serious people take this, which I mean it is the leader of our country it should be taken seriously, but I think sometimes people tend to go overboard with how they tell people their ideas and how they disagree with one another.