AARP's "Don't Vote" Campaign
Robert Paul Reyes
October 13, 2006
We are all familiar with MTV's "Rock The Vote" and WWE's "Smackdown Your Vote", these voter registration drives have encouraged many young people to vote.
But that's not necessarily a good thing if uneducated voters are making uneducated choices resulting in inept or unethical candidates winning office.
If a Puff Daddy or Pee Daddy, or whatever he is calling himself these days, coaxes an ignorant slacker to pry himself from his Nintendo and go to the polls on Election Day, is that a good thing? And if a WWE wrestler convinces enough young people to vote, we might end up with Arnold Schwarzenegger as president one day. (Providing that the Constitution is amended.)
Now an organization with no appeal to young people has launched a "Don't Vote" campaign. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has produced a public service announcement with this seemingly undemocratic message: Don't vote!
But that's not the whole message. The AARP is saying don't' vote unless you are familiar with the candidates and the issues.
From U.S. Newswire:
"By visiting http://www.dontvote.com , voters can select their respective state and receive information on state and national races, find their district, and register to vote. Additionally, visitors to dontvote.com can view the AARP Voters' Guide, which presents national, state, and local candidates' unedited responses on key issues."
Sen. George Allen has a genial personality with a smile always at the ready, and he may charm a lot of uneducated voters. But citizens who keep up with current events know that Sen. George "Macaca" Allen is totally unfit to serve in the Senate.
With so many life or death issues facing the electorate, we don't need more voters, we need more informed voters. I'm not voting for any politician until I learn where he stands on all the important issues: The Korean crisis, the Iraq War, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, national health care, the AIDS crisis, and the war on Islamic terrorism.
To young people I say: Don't listen to an illiterate rap star urging you to "Rock The Vote", pay attention to your AARP elders and learn about the issues and then vote your conscience.
But that's not necessarily a good thing if uneducated voters are making uneducated choices resulting in inept or unethical candidates winning office.
If a Puff Daddy or Pee Daddy, or whatever he is calling himself these days, coaxes an ignorant slacker to pry himself from his Nintendo and go to the polls on Election Day, is that a good thing? And if a WWE wrestler convinces enough young people to vote, we might end up with Arnold Schwarzenegger as president one day. (Providing that the Constitution is amended.)
Now an organization with no appeal to young people has launched a "Don't Vote" campaign. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has produced a public service announcement with this seemingly undemocratic message: Don't vote!
But that's not the whole message. The AARP is saying don't' vote unless you are familiar with the candidates and the issues.
From U.S. Newswire:
"By visiting http://www.dontvote.com , voters can select their respective state and receive information on state and national races, find their district, and register to vote. Additionally, visitors to dontvote.com can view the AARP Voters' Guide, which presents national, state, and local candidates' unedited responses on key issues."
Sen. George Allen has a genial personality with a smile always at the ready, and he may charm a lot of uneducated voters. But citizens who keep up with current events know that Sen. George "Macaca" Allen is totally unfit to serve in the Senate.
With so many life or death issues facing the electorate, we don't need more voters, we need more informed voters. I'm not voting for any politician until I learn where he stands on all the important issues: The Korean crisis, the Iraq War, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, national health care, the AIDS crisis, and the war on Islamic terrorism.
To young people I say: Don't listen to an illiterate rap star urging you to "Rock The Vote", pay attention to your AARP elders and learn about the issues and then vote your conscience.
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