Bill Robinson, be proud. I furthered the mission of Whitworth University by engaging in conversation about diversity of opinion with people I didn’t know.
In the coffeeshop I struck up a discussion with two random people by simply asking, “How do you think the president is doing?”
And their answers surprised me.
The first boy I asked had very good things to say about the president. He felt as though Obama was doing the right thing in sending more troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, and that he was dealing with a lot that was left over from the Bush Administration.
The other boy liked Obama, but had some criticisms. He thought that the president had promised too much during his campaign and that things were moving slowly.
Neither of them were political science majors (they were studying English), and they both felt like they weren’t keeping up as well as they should be with the Healthcare Bill and other matters in the political arena.
This conversation led me to two conclusions, the first being that people get bored talking about politics, and more specifically, the presidency, after a short amount of time. Our conversation quickly digressed and didn’t find its way back to the executive for several minutes.
I believe it is hard to discuss something as intricate as the presidency because of the complexities and differences of opinion. Executive power cannot be defined in black and white, and can therefore be a frustrating matter to debate.
My second conclusion is that people who don’t study politics are still interested and care about what is happening in the country. Both of the people I talked to expressed some knowledge and definitely had an opinion.
It is important to listen to all opinions and engage with different sides to fully understand the nation as a whole. Embrace diversity, as Whitworth instructs, to live a long and prosperous life.
Goodnight.
