Presidential "isms"

By:

Posted: 7/2/08

They run rampant in our daily lives, even when we try to avoid them. They infiltrate our communities, our campuses and, yes, even our circles of friends.
They are isms: racism, sexism and ageism are several big ones - just to name a few.
In the last few months, these "isms" have become more pronounced on a national level.
Why?
Because of a presidential race that has been focusing on everything but actual policies and beliefs, or so it seems. Stereotypes associated with appearance have gotten out of control in politics.
Barack Obama is a young African-American man. John McCain is an old white man. Hillary Clinton, who still has a chance of being a vice-presidential candidate, is a middle-aged white woman, who is just as notorious for her pantsuits as her politics - if not more.
The racist, sexist and ageist Americans in this country don't seem to be planning on voting for a candidate based on their views and plans to change America - they are looking at the colors of their skin, their genders and at how many wrinkles they have on their faces.
Here at OSU, we have been working hard to reduce "isms" in our university and community. A few months ago, a forum series was held on campus to specifically discuss different "isms" in the media.
Let us apply these lessons about "isms" in the media to similar "isms" in politics.
Students and staff who are able to attend or work at a major university should be smart enough to judge people, as well as political candidates (we forget that they are people too) on "the content of their character," as Martin Luther King Jr. once said, as opposed to the color of their skin, whether they wear pants or a skirt, or how many hot summers they've lived through.
It is probably fair to say that the prominent individuals in this year's presidential race could not be further from the negative stereotypes that haunt them.
In America we know that a person can still make intelligent decisions regardless of race or gender. We also know that a person's health can deteriorate at any age.
So why can't we forget these outward differences and really look into what may be the campaign of the century?
We challenge anyone who reads this to do two things: first, don't take age, sex or race into account when making your decision on whom to vote for in November; second, spend 15 minutes on the Internet looking up what the candidates really believe in.
It might not be as exciting as Facebook, but we guarantee you'll learn a whole lot more.