Assignment 8-Eliot Smith

Fears: Spiders, ratchets
Annoyances: Political ignorance, loud people
Accomplishments: Won an essay contest, accepted to Yale Global Scholars
Confusions: The general public
Sorrows: Lack of motivation
Dreams: Attending a good college, being a good father
Idiosyncrasies: Correcting EVERYBODY'S grammar, touching my face all the time
Risks: Trading stocks
Beloved Possessions: Family, my computer
Problems: Work ethic

     David, my friend from tennis, and I are standing at the entrance to the Henry Clay tennis courts.  I look to my left and see former congressman Ben Chandler, recently replaced by Andy Barr as the 6th district of Kentucky's House member.  I point him out to David.  "David, do you know who that is?"  "No, some tennis guy?"  Are you serious?  "That's Ben Chandler, our former House representative."  He shrugs.  "Ok."  I stare at him in a bewildered manner.  "Do you even know who our current representative is?"  He replies, ever so intelligently, "Some republican guy I think.  I know his last name starts with an H."  At this point, I am utterly amazed.  "His name doesn't start with an H, his name is ANDY BARR."  I yelled the last part at him to ensure that he remembers.  "Don't you read the paper?  Don't you have a news app installed on your phone or something?"  He shrugs again.  Wow.

     Do people really not care about the power-wielding individuals that, literally, govern our way of life?  To me, this seems to be the case.  From the example above, to the sounds of  "OBAMA IS ONLY WINNING BECAUSE HE'S BLACK OH MY GOD" and "wow all we need to do to make the national debt go away is stop spending money" I get the feeling that this is the age of mass political ignorance.

     To me, someone that takes the actions of those running our nation very seriously, this is awfully frustrating.  I just do not understand how people can live without caring at all about their own nation's politics.  This political ignorance can be compared to a plague infecting anyone who fails to observe and receive with importance the actions of our leaders.  Friends, family, tennis partners, anyone who cannot see past their immediate lives to witness those who control America.