A10
Election 2010
EZ SU K
KLMNO
AmericaVotes. T
PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS BY MELINAMARA
he ringing principle we cling to as Americans is that all are created equal. We don’t stay that way. Fortunes are made, houses are lost, children are left behind. Choice, and chance, sort us into groups and cohorts crammed with differences that never seem more stark than on the eve of an election. We argue about what our nation is and what we want it to be. Politicians tramp through certain places and ignore others. Pollsters pluck certain people as random samples, then predict behavior of millions. Billions are spent to influence results. Then it all stops, swept aside because the voters
have the final word, and the only word. What reasserts our equality is the ballot. It silences the noise and makes the nation indivisible again. It is the right and responsibility given each citizen at 18, and its total power comes from its simplicity: One person, one vote, free to all. — Ann Gerhart
Q; If you had to use a single word to describe your feelings about the federal
government, what would that one word be?
Confused
AMANDALEWIS, 29 PITTSBURGH
When you think and talk about government, do you tend to think of it more as “the government” or “our government”? I definitely think about it as “our government.” . . . I am the one that put them into power, because I read the newspapers, because I watch TV, because I follow what they do . . . People don’t understand that it really is our government that if we were educated and intelligent and paid more attention, that we actually can make a difference. And I think France is the best example. All in all, do you think things in the nation are headed in the right direction or do you feel that things are on the wrong track? I think they are definitely headed in the right direction. One of the first things that President Obama did was to pass legislation to make sure that women were paid— the same as men. . . . the fact that health care should be a right and not a privilege . . . You know, and trying to enact preventive measures – we’re definitely heading in the right direction.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2010
Misguided
STEVE LARSON, 20 KENTSTATE UNIVERSITY, KENT,OHIO
When you think and talk about government, do you tend to think of it more as “the government” or more as “our government”? I would say “the government.” I guess sometimes it feels like the government is really disconnected . . . [it] should be of the people—run by the people—but the government is suppressing [states’ rights] right now. And they do that in a lot of other things, so it makes it feel more “the government” instead of “our government. All in all, do you think things in the nation are headed in the right direction or do you feel that things are on the wrong track? I guess—well, I guess probably not everything is headed in the wrong track—the wrong direction. A lot of things are happening—like the bailout ofWall Street, the pharmaceutical industries and . . . trying to put a bunch of regulations on small organic farms, and now they’re trying to pretty much kill the rawfood industry—that doesn’t make any sense to me.
Disappointed
MONICEMINGTONG, 48 WEXFORD,PA.
When you think and talk about government, do you tend to think of it more as “the government” or more as “our government”?Well, since I’ma citizen, it is “our government.”…I live here, I’ma citizen, this is our government. All in all, do you think things in the nation are headed in the right direction or do you feel that things are on the wrong track?Wrong track.We keep spending money, but we don’t see much result. And the economy is bad. And then I guess our next generation is going to pay much higher tax—or even I have to pay much higher tax for the money that we’ve been printing and borrowing.
Working
THEREV.W.EVAPREAGLER SHARON,PA.
When you think and talk about government, do you tend to think of it more as “the government” or more as “our government”? I think of it as “our government:” for the people and by the people. All in all, do you think things in the nation are headed in the right direction or do you feel that the things are on the wrong track?We seem to be going in the right direction. But we need a little bit of time.We seem to be going a little too fast.We have to be thorough as we work against the problems that we have in theU.S. and throughout the world.
Disappointed
STEPHENFETSICK, 26 PITTSBURGH
“When you think and talk about government, do you tend to think of it more as “the government” or more as “our government’?” I would say I think of it more as “the government,” not “our government.” “Our government” would imply that we have more control over the larger issues than we actually do. “The government” is pretty much:We’re told what can and can’t be done and we just have to oblige. All in all, do you think things in the nation are headed in the right direction or do you feel that things are on the wrong track? I definitely think things are on the wrong track. From the economic standpoint, it’s absolutely terrible at this point. I guess it can only go up from here. It hasn’t been this bad economically in a long time. But I don’t think we’re on the right track to get it improved, I still think we’re headed down a wrong track.
Confused
BILLCONNER MEADVILLE, PA.
When you think and talk about government, do you tend to think of it more as “the government” or more as “our government”? To me, it’s—it’s not for the people, I don’t think, to me. It’s—the government’s not for the people. They’re just not for us. They don’t listen to us. They don’t listen to what the people’s needs are. This is justmy opinion, but that’s how I feel. I mean, if—they need to be more honest with people instead of judging other candidates and stuff like that. All in all, do you think the nation are headed in the right direction or do you feel that things are on the wrong track? I’d say they’re on the wrong track because I just – I don’t know. To me, they’re just on the wrong track. The economy is not getting any better right now. I mean it’s just at a standstill and it’s just like a dead stop.
Spoiled
SALLY SOFFA, 52 MEADVILLE, PA.
When you think and talk about government, do
you tend to think of it as more as “the government” or more as “our government”? . . . I do still think of it as “our government,” although if I think about it deeper, I really feel that it’s really not . . . that the government has taken over and they don’t really care about the people. But I was raised differently and I do still feel—think of it as our government. All in all, do you think things in the nation are headed in the right direction or do you feel that things are on the wrong track? I actually changed my party—so I could vote againstHillary Clinton— because I liked Barack Obama. And I think he’s smart and I think if anybody would give him a chance, he could get somewhere. And I really don’t think things are in the right direction. I think our government is just a bunch of kids just fighting back and forth and everybody wants to get their way, but nobody really thinks about the greater good.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60