This is my Honors PSA

Honors PSA

The Hispanic Vote-The Deciding Factor

     To have a chance at winning a presidency you need a large percent of America's population and with roughly 54 million Hispanics taking up 17%  of that population, Donald Trump is facing a formidable foe. Leaders of powerful Latin american groups gathered for a meeting where they discussed who would be declined their support, Trump was among those denied. This is due to Trump's outlandish statements. He has vowed to deport 11 million Hispanic immigrants, all of which, he called rapists and murderers. It is said by many that there is no way to win a presidency without the Hispanic/Latino vote, and I has been shown throughout history with Romney and McCain who lost their Hispanic vote.

     The Hispanic population has been established in North America for over 400 years and has settled a root of power when they gained the ability to vote in 1965. 11% of today's eligible voters are of Hispanic/Latin ethnicity, an amount that could sway the end polls. In 2012, Obama won over 79% of the Hispanic vote, while Romney only had 27%, in he end results Obama won out by 3.9% Less than the whole of the Hispanic vote, If Romney had the Hispanic vote he could've won the election. The same goes for the preceding election with McCain, where Obama won out on the Hispanic vote. Having the Hispanic vote make or breaks the election for competing candidates. It's this revelation that altered how candidates rally voters and who they target for specific percentages.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/10/22/angered-by-trump-and-cruz-hispanic-conservatives-plan-unprecedented-meeting/
http://nypost.com/2015/10/26/only-11-percent-of-hispanics-like-trump-poll/
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/24/opinions/sanchez-hispanic-heritage-trump/

The Dawn of the Information Age

A collaboration with the infamous Riley K. Jones

"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" ~ Andy Warhol (1968)

This was said a full 25 years before the first web browser, Mosaic,  was even introduced.  The invention of the internet allowed people to instantly connect to others all over the world and find any of the information that they desired at the touch of a few buttons.  Thus began the dawn of the information age.  The introduction of the Internet brought with it a whole new type of communication, research, and, as humans always tend to realize when they play with a new toy long enough, warfare. One fought with ones and zeros instead of guns and steel.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Security Agency (NSA) are two organizations that deal in the monitoring and security of information stored and shared on the internet.  Following the rise of technology and its more malevolent users, the responsibilities of the two organizations changed to more loosely define the freedoms we have as a result of the Bill of Rights.  Government presence on the web changed whether rights such as freedom of speech and petition would be transferred and protected in the digital state as well as the physical state.

This presence also defined forever the way that our freedoms and responsibilities as citizens of the United States are viewed by the government.  The freedom to speak freely, to an outlet that allows a larger, more receptive audience than your average soapbox, is not as protected on the internet.  That reason being our very own United States government.  We now have more of a responsibility to choose our words carefully in every text message, comment, email, and blog post so that we aren’t arrested for plotting another dismemberment. (How much do you really enjoy your left arm, Mr. N?)

The government did not leave us to test these recently acquired freedoms and responsibilities before they made the choice to limit them for us.  What does this say about the government of the united states and their trust of the people as a whole?  It is, of course, up to you to decide.  But if you’re going to post a more...negative response, I wouldn’t make it too strongly worded.

Freedom Quote Responses

“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”

This quote by former First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt expresses how freedom is a power that requires something in return, responsibility. Every human knows this requirement but many choose to not accept the power or ignore the requirement. These people are the ones who fear responsibility to choose the right actions. It is here that the true need for understanding of this prospect needs to be made. If this power is given without responsibility, then it is exactly as Eleanor said; A truly frightening prospect.

"Power is a freedom, one that usually comes with the responsibility of leadership."

Emily Ma said this in her article on freedom with responsibility. Emily struck an interesting idea, one that I was built on in my last response. It's the idea that when one is put into a position involving leadership of some kind, whether it be personal or on a grander scale, they are given the freedom to mold their own path. This freedom allows them to do what they so choose, but they must be the leader and choose the correct choices for themselves and others. It is this idea that freedom with responsibility comes from. 

Freedom with Responsibility

What does freedom with responsibility mean to me? It means being able to use your mom's credit card without her worrying about your spending. It means being able to leave campus and coming back before your class starts. It's being given the ability to do what you want and not taking advantage of it (in a bad way). Every person strives for freedom, one of John Locke's natural rights was Liberty, where everyone wants to be as free as possible. "With great power comes great responsibility." It's a saying that gets a chuckle out of everyone, but it holds a lot of value in this topic. If we have too much of either we lose the thin balance that freedom with responsibility is based on. So, if you asked me, I'd say freedom with responsibility means having the ability to do what you want and the conscience to do what's right.