Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Prioritizing the Issues That Matter

MCT

I would like to formally introduce myself to my readers and where my opinions come from as the president of the University of Massachusetts Republican Club and a Political Science major.

Growing up in Rochester, N.Y., I was raised in a stable suburban community with few worries. I was raised in a Jewish home that had historically voted Democrat before Bush’s second term. While I grew up with left-leaning social views on subjects such as gay rights, abortion rights and minority rights, I had also been raised with right-leaning views on national security and economic issues and so identifying with a political party was becoming a challenge.

Then began my next chapter in life: UMass, where my thoughts on life and my political views were being challenged by a dominant liberal community.

Some of my views were strengthened and reaffirmed, while others became much fuzzier and difficult to wrap my head around.

Hoping to align one’s personal views completely with a party’s platform is often impossible. Blindly voting for a party due to some nostalgic habit rather than seeing the candidates through a lens that reflects the current status of national and international affairs is naïve.

Prioritizing one’s issues is the way I have decided who I will vote for in November.

Recently, my cousin and a friend attended a Republican rally at Emory University.  Knowing he was gay, she asked him why he felt positively towards a party that historically has not been welcoming to the gay rights agenda.

Her friend responded, “I may not agree with the Republicans on that issue, but I share their agenda regarding the economy and foreign policy. If we don’t get our foreign policy right, there won’t be a world left to care about my gay rights.”

When picking a candidate to vote for this election, do not take into account the political party they are affiliated with. Look at the platform they have presented, and how you rank your views vis-à-vis their views.

If that choice is President Barack Obama, for whatever reason, then I probably won’t have a job when I graduate, but at least you voted based on your own morals and thoughts, not because you just always support the same political party.

If that choice happens to be Mitt Romney, then you may have prioritized the issues like I have this coming election.

When I look to our future, I find our $16 trillion growing debt, unstable policy in the Middle East, lack of concern for maintaining Social Security and the abysmal creation that is “Obamacare,” to be how I rank some of the issues facing us.

When spending time with my grandfather this summer, he not only agreed with the idea of prioritizing the issues, but he stressed that some issues we can always “do over” while others will leave a permanent mark on human history. Whether Iran decides to use nuclear weapons against the United States and Israel is one of those “non-do-over” decisions.

Whether the U.S. decides to leave Afghanistan completely so Al-Qaeda can return to re-establish terror camps that target the West is also a “non-do-over” issue.

Whether the Arab Springs in the Middle East will result in democratic governments or just be replaced by groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood is also a “non-do-over” situation.  A result of this particular situation has put a 32-year peace agreement with Israel and Egypt in jeopardy and allowed terror camps to spring up in the Sinai desert.

On Sept. 11, 2012, Libyan Islamist terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, killing U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. The U.S. Embassy in Cairo was also breached, by Islamists who were protesting “Innocence of Muslims,” a U.S.-made film about Mohammed they deemed offensive.

In an online statement, the U.S. Embassy put out a statement that “condemned the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.”  That our administration chose to apologize for offending anyone’s feelings before it condemned an act of war is despicable, and may I add, not a “do-over” event.

How the world views the United States now and forever is based on decisions and statements our president makes.

So what do I consider issues that are “do-over” issues?

An issue such as gay marriage, which understandably is very important to many voters, is something that can be changed through Congress, and ultimately is determined on a state by state basis.

As important as health care is to all our citizens, I truly believe that the world’s security is a more pressing issue that cannot be fixed at a later date. For all its flaws, the U.S. healthcare system is still one of the best in the world. No one is denied treatment at a hospital and the latest technology is in place at the majority of centers.

Women’s reproductive rights are also an important issue to us all. And although both political parties seem to be at opposite ends of a compromise, there are Democrats who are pro-life, Republicans who are pro-choice and a Supreme Court Ruling (Roe vs. Wade) since 1973 that struck down state laws that made abortions illegal.

As a last note, while casting your vote this coming election, please consider all of the issues, not just the ones that the media wants you to focus on.

Be an independent thinker, one who does not listen to the biased news of the day but one that investigates the issues that matter to them from several different sources.

Your thoughts on an issue should not come easily, but rather you should struggle to find what feels right.

David Kaufman is the president of the UMass Republican Club. He can be reached at[email protected].

 

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  • C

    CaitlinSep 26, 2012 at 8:14 pm

    So, it’s okay to spend trillions of dollars on military programs but it’s not okay to make sure that all American citizens have access to quality healthcare? Strange… I had not thought of it that way. Nor had I thought of how unimportant it is that the Republican vice presidential candidate repeatedly says things that are offensive and demeaning to the life experiences that women share. Silly me. As an independent, I certainly agree that one should never vote along party lines. In my opinion, the two party system has bastardized the American political system. However, this election period, I feel rather uneasy with the Republican party as a whole, since many prominent GOP leaders actively incorporate their religious views into their politics. I cannot condone such behavior since these politicians are legislating for people who do not have the same views. Therefore, I will not be voting for any Republicans this year. Not out of a simple “I am a Democrat, that is how I vote” mentality, just a general distaste for the policies that the GOP supports.

    Reply
  • R

    RuebenSep 25, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    Glad you agree Jaimie

    Reply
  • J

    JaimieSep 25, 2012 at 11:58 am

    I for one find it refreshing that on this campus someone has taken the time to say “whoa” let’s see what is really important to us and not just pull a lever because of party allegience. I don’t see how it is condescending unless you are a bit paranoid?

    Reply
  • B

    Brian D.Sep 25, 2012 at 2:41 am

    Rueben, we already pay for a 800,000,000,000 dollar military budget, you know…

    Oh, and most of the cost of cancer treatment – or any kind of treatment these days – consists of the fees of insurance companies. Health care would be much cheaper if we cut the middleman and got rid of private for-profit insurance.

    Reply
  • A

    AnirSep 24, 2012 at 11:39 pm

    Excellent.
    right to the point.
    BTW to the first comment: no-one denies care from the emergency room, people with no insurance go there if they have fiver and are taken care of including illegals.

    Reply
  • R

    RuebenSep 24, 2012 at 9:55 pm

    The article does not denounce the other side, it simply uplifts how the writer chooses to vote. He shows his side of things, something that isn’t seen in the unbelievably biased classrooms here at UMASS. You should struggle with these ideas because as a mindful and growing human being you should always wrestle with your ideas. Complacency and ignorance never got anyone anywhere. And you’re right Jamie, we can all just keep paying for each others 100,000 dollar cancer treatment until we’re all broke and none of us can afford it. Good thought.

    Reply
  • L

    laurenSep 24, 2012 at 11:34 am

    this is a pretty condescending article. do you think that people who support Obama have given no thought to foreign policy and economic? most people including democrats have other issues on their mind and are prioritizing based on the way they view things, not because they’re wearing blinders to all issues but civil rights. they just view things differently than you. this article seems to be attempting to denounce partisanship while patronizing anyone who isn’t voting for romney.

    also you shouldn’t always have to “struggle to find what’s right.” cognitive dissonance usually comes with trying to make yourself believe something that you actually don’t. you should think about things, true, but not struggle to come to an answer every time.

    Reply
  • J

    JamieSep 24, 2012 at 11:07 am

    It is absolutely NOT true that “no one is denied treatment at a hospital”. That only works in an emergency. So, for example, you are not denied treatment if you got hit by a car. However, you ARE denied treatment if it’s NOT an emergency – even if that “non-emergency” is certain to kill you in a few months. For instance, if you have cancer, you ARE denied cancer treatment unless your insurance will cover it.

    Reply