Democracy! Now What?

The Presidential election has officially wrapped up in the good ol' U.S. of A & Barack Obama brought home another victory for the Democrats. On the positive side of things we're officially done with political mudslinging for the time being. However, much like in sports, the bandwagons feel like they're emptying after "the big game". Here are a few reasons why that needs to not happen.

Just because the spotlight is off the candidates doesn't mean that we should stop looking at them. They need to be held responsible for their actions during their upcoming terms in office. If we don't hold them to the promises they made along the campaign trail, what good are we as (a) democratic nation(s)?

Dear Media, in the post-election world we live in, lets follow this 1 RULE: “If you can’t back up a fact with REAL proof, DON’T REPORT IT.”
— Jason Pollock (@Jason_Pollock) November 10, 2012

The media is different from how it's ever been. If there is an opinion that you don't agree with you can change the channel & find someone that thinks like you do. Thus, even if a candidate does "wrong", someone somewhere is probably going to try to justify it.

Plus news stories seem to have shorter lifespan than in previous years. Remember Kony 2012? How about Afghanistan? The whole "Fast & Furious" situation in Mexico? News comes out, we feel a certain way & then we hear newer news that causes us to push older stories to the side. Perhaps that's a by-product of living in the information age but it'd be nice to see things through until they reach a conclusion.

What ever happened to Kony 2012?
— ♔ Sophomores ♔(@2015Seniors) November 8, 2012

Politicians shouldn't just be news every few years. Pay attention to what is happening in your world because it's just that: yours. It may be their job to make the policies that govern our lives but they work for us. If they screw up, remember it. If you don't like the moves they make now, don't expect someone to remind you about it when Election Day shows up on the horizon. The ability to make a decision every few years is great. Making an informed one is better.