This semester, I am taking Political Science 2150, Voters and Elections. This class focuses a lot on voting behavior and ideologies that exist in the United States. My specialization in political science is political economy and development, so topics such as civic engagement are not ones I typically focus. While I care about voting, which can be seen in my involvement in OSU Votes, I do not see myself working in elections in the future. It has never been a career I have been interested in, partly due to me being interested by policy development, but mostly due to me being scared away from the political tension that exists in election season. While I love standing up for policies I care about, I do not know if I could handle having to fight so hard, through trying to convince Americans to vote a certain way or by battling the opponent, to make my voice heard and de validated.
However, this week, we watched the documentary The War Room, chronicling the ups and downs and inner workings of the Clinton campaign in 1992. Not only did I see the things that have always scared me away from campaigns (through low blows being tossed back and forth between the Bush and Clinton campaign), but I also saw things that I have always looked forward to participating in. While the Clinton campaign staff’s main goal was to have Governor Clinton elected as President, there was a large focus on how they were fighting also to see the policies they cared about seen in office. Through speech writing and press statements, I saw the tasks that they believed would help them see their voices and policies exist in government. This made elections and campaigns seem much more relevant to me and my goals. It is fast-pasted and often dramatic, but it is not as intimidating as I once thought it was. This is just another form of political initiative that can bring about the goals I want to pursue in politics: fighting to bring about policies that I think would improve life for the American public. So, not only was this documentary interesting and entertaining, but it also has opened my eyes to what the inner workings of campaigns are, and how I could possibly fit into them.