By Meher Ahmad
<[email protected]>

This past election has been one of the most historically significant elections in America. The covers of every major magazine and newspaper can tell the average reader that. It has also been one of the most controversial elections in recent history.

The reason this election has stuck out, in my mind, is because of the unprecedented student involvement. Unfortunately, I was not able to vote this election on account of my age, but I worked as much as possible for the Obama campaign locally. I wasn’t the only one. The Students for McCain group was equally active in spreading the publicity. A group of students, to my dismay, took it upon themselves to spread their opinions via sidewalk chalk on the trail. While this last action, in my opinion, was utterly irresponsible of the school administration that has told me time and time again that it strives to keep from endorsing one candidate, it nonetheless shows the lengths to which young people began to involve themselves.

The point is that people who never before cared about politics are beginning to get involved. The only downside to this, in my opinion, is the introduction of those who do not have the basic knowledge of politics necessary to formulate credible opinions. The ugly remarks made about both Barack Obama and John McCain in the last week before election were shocking to me. Although I knew that ignorance ran rampant in the halls of this school, I had no idea that it afflicted so many students.

Among some of unmentionable things, I heard that Mr. Obama was a “raging socialist” who “pals around with terrorists” and, worst of all, a Muslim. Born as a Muslim, I was shocked to see that word synonymous with “terrorist” in most people’s vocabulary. I naively assumed such opinions were limited to crazy McCain supporters who had obviously fallen off their rocker.

In a hyper-media world, reporters were putting out stories on matters that frankly had nothing to do with the issues of the election, like the “terrorist fist-jab” story or the over-analyzing of the minister at Obama’s church. The media is free, fortunately, in this society, but that also means that a number of ridiculous things can be said on air, things that students take a little too literally.

The effect of parental indoctrination also became evident, as I witnessed several students who obviously had not formulated opinions themselves and instead relied to the biased opinions of their parents to define their opinions as well.

At the end of the day, I respect Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Socialists or Communists equally, but only if they back their opinions with facts and not generalizations and myths. Unfortunately, too many fell to ignorance and relying on dubious information to formulate their opinions.

While I cannot complain at the increased political activity of my school mates, it is dismaying to see such lack of awareness in a group of people I expected more from.