“In the days of Caesar, kings had fools and jesters. Now network presidents have anchormen.” ~Ted Koppel

According to USA Today ,"The average american watches four hours and 35 minutes of television each day." That means that every day, we are receiving four hours worth of information from the television about everything and anything. You have to realize how much the government can see this as a huge opportunity. Whether you are watching CNN for those four hours or you are flipping through channels for the full four and happen to land on The Soup on MTV for the last three minutes, the government sees that you are getting information from the television. The government can then change their plans on how they give their information. They can give it through those four hours of TV and, on top of that, only give you the information particular to whom is giving it (a political party, a campaigning representative and so on). Confused?

A prime example: the president since he was inaugurated. On September 21st, Obama appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, talking about the economy, the unemployment rate, health care, the iraq exit strategy, and much more. And, this wasn't the first time that Obama appeared on late night TV. On March 19th, Obama appeared on The Tonight Show, hosted then by Jay Leno, to talk about accepting his presidency. Even the president realizes the opportunity that popular television provides for not only his campaigning but his policies. And, to be honest, If I didn't watch the The Late Show with David Letterman, I wouldn't have really understood the political standings that Obama had on his various topics. That shows something. According to PoynterOnline "Forty-six percent of students get news and information at least once a week from entertainment shows such as 'The Daily Show,' 'The Colbert Report' and 'South Park.'" Now, perhaps our generation doesn't put a lot of effort into getting our news, or perhaps our generation receives information in a different way. Even today, I feel that I should watch CNN and other news shows more to be more informed but, the truth is that when I do watch those news shows I don't get information. I feel lost and I never seem to get all the information straight. Perhaps our generation needs "The Daily Show" to give us the information in a more accessible way and, perhaps it is a good thing that Obama goes on The Tonight Show so that he doesn't leave our demographic out. I know that a lot times, people complain about how Obama has become a celebrity but, I think that to some extent Obama sees how we are getting our information and acts accordingly. Now, I am not saying that Obama should go walk down the red carpet every time there is a award show. I am just saying that, perhaps, it is a good thing that our president is out there more. I mean he even has a Twitter for god sake.

Thats another thing. The internet. Our generation is the Net generation. We spend hours upon hours on Facebook, Twitter, AIM, and other various social networks and messaging systems. People who have an opinion, whether its the president or Will Ferrel, are using this to their advantage. They are posting tweets about the economy, making youtube video's of their political opinion, all to make sure that we are "informed." I mean come on, look at me, I'm writing a blog about my opinions. But, there is one thing everyone has to remember. The viewers, the readers are just getting an opinion. There are opinions for each side and there are videos and blogs showing each one, but you have to realize that in the end we, the viewer, are the one who is making the decision. We are forming our own opinions. So, when it comes to the arguments about whether FOX news is a credible source or if Will Ferrel is really just brainwashing our generation, you have to remember that it is just an opinion. Its really up to us to make the decision on what we think, not Obama, David Letterman, or Will Ferrel.

So, if there was one thing I ask of the reader of this blog, or the viewer of The Tonight Show it would be this: proceed with caution. Everyone has their own opinion and the most you can do is get active and get informed. I think that that is one thing I have learned from writing this blog. You can whine all you want about the fact that you are not informed, that is easy, but, to take the step to get information and then process it is pretty hard but pretty satisfying. So, take the next step from the health care video, and research what the policies are. And, I'm not being sarcastic, not at all.

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary." ~James Madison

The Founding Fathers. Who were they? Yes, I am sure that we could name a few: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and the ever popular George Washington. But, who were these men? Throughout these past weeks, I have learned that they were visionaries, philosophers, lawyers, and even scientists. Men, who took upon them the great task of framing the American government into what it is today. Not an easy task.

They started simply with a sheet of paper. A specific paper to be exact: The United States Constitution. This piece of paper, this document, is the foundation of our countries government. We have fallowed this little baby through thick and thin. And, when we wanted to change it, by George (excuse the pun) we tried. I have to admit the Constitution is brilliant and I am thankful that our country and these Founding Framers developed it. As I learned in these past weeks, the document keeps the government in check. The president, the senate, the congress, the people of this nation all have to report to this document. In essence, it established a check and balance system which separates power into three branches: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. Each branch has their own number of jobs which may or may not limit the other two branches. The Framers knew that mankind was not the most trustworthy to hold the fate of the country; at the same time, they wanted mankind, all of mankind, to be represented. The Framers found the checks and balance system to be the best way. And, to this day its still working. I think its safe to say that they were pretty right.

But, there's something contradictory to it, am I right? These men knew that mankind was not to be trusted. Well, then why in the hell are we trusting these Framers? Who died and made them the ones who knew it all? I am not calling our Founding Fathers dumb. I am simply pointing out that their is a flaw in their philosophy. Now, don't think I'm stupid. I keep in mind the fact that they all, hopefully, kept each other in check, compromising when necessary and, deciding for the greater good. And, if the government has taken us this far in time with not much inner turmoil, I think it works pretty well. I am just astounded by how much trust our government puts in human beings. Humans who make mistakes all the time are trusted to debate and make major decisions. I guess that is true for every government. But, what is so amazing about our government is how much we want everyone to be represented. In essence, its what makes America great. We all have a say. I hate to sound like a yuppy patriot but, there are so many countries who look to us as a free country. Yes, we have our issues, but we are a welcoming nation. We should be proud of that.

So, who are these framers? They are America. They are woven into this country's history, government, people and life. They are the ones who helped us grow and kept us in check when things got bumpy. They built this nation with their own two hands just so we could live freely. And, with that in mind, I think its safe to say: they are the ideal American Dad.

"Hear reason, or she'll make you feel her." ~Benjamin Franklin

It is very simple as to why I made this blog: it was a class assignment. I am a Theatre and Dance double major at Muhlenberg College and, for my Human Behavior Studies requirement, I am taking Introduction to National American Government. Within this class, I was asked to do three projects from a list of many. One of the projects was to write my own political blog. So here it is.

Now, I am going to be honest and say that I voted in the last election. I am also going to be honest and say that I really have no idea why. This is because I am probably one of the least informed and the most inactive person politically. I usually only care about what plays I get into, what dance steps I have to learn, what drama is issuing around my friends, my homework, getting a job, AKA I am your average 21 year old. But this is all about to change.

The reason why I took this class was because I knew I wanted to know about the government. I wanted to learn, not only how it was run, but what was happening within it. I am not so self involved that I can't see that we are living in an amazing and influential time for our country. Therefore, I took this class to become informed and grow to influence the country just as much as anyone else. As a Theatre and Dance major, I enjoy to create. I feel that the arts can communicate many things that the average word cannot. In other words, I believe that if you are going to create something, you should say something within your creating. Hopefully, after taking this class I will have strong enough opinions that I will want to create dance or theatre pieces that have a political points.

So, why? What's the point? What's the reason why I am making this blog? The reason is very simple: I think that I am one of the many average, uninformed people of the 18-24 demographic. And, with that in mind, I am ready to learn, ready to reflect, and ready to write my own opinion about National American Government and it means to me today.