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So what’s next?
I don’t know about you, but on Nov. 5, I woke up energized and looking for a way I could make some sort of further impact in the world. Some sort of difference, or change, if you will, for the better.
The election really affected people this year. I know individuals who voted for the first time in a decade, or got involved in campaigns who never cared about politics before this election. And I even know of some people who changed parties this year, choosing a candidate who would “stay the course” for another four years.
Of course, this general election really got to me as well. As someone who has a pretty severe addiction to the Internet, it was amazing to watch how each candidate used the medium’s potential. At no other time in history have social networking sites, and the interconnectivity they provide, played such a huge role. Sen. Obama utilized technology to organize his supporters and reach millions of people, in a way that seemed to take the Republicans by surprise.
Personally, I watched every debate — posting a ton of posts on Twitter for each — and tried to use the Internet to read as much as I could on Obama’s and Sen. McCain’s positions on the issues. (Yes, in a perfect world, we would have more than just the two majority party candidates as viable contenders, and we would have a real dialogue, but, unfortunately, third-party candidates, at least for president, haven’t stood much of a chance [see page 7]).
I was really disappointed in Obama during the debates when he mentioned nuclear energy as part of his plan to combat domestic oil dependence. I don’t mean to dis the guy, but he seemed to be cowtowing to Republicans in a big way over the oil issue, and I’m now really interested to see who his cabinet pick for energy chief is going to be.
Speaking of which, our next issue (a double one) will focus on Portland’s sustainability plan and efforts lawmakers are doing to minimize our growing energy needs. It’s a hot topic right now — The Portland Tribune recently switched its Sustainability section into a glossy magazine insert, which, really, doesn’t say sustainability at all to me) — but it’s a topic that’s going to be around for a long time, until a real change has been made.
If you have ideas or recommendations, we’d love to hear from you, and we hope to make this a regular feature in the paper from now on.
Thank you,
Melissa Chavez
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