Sometimes being an older college student (non-traditional seems to take the sting out of older) is challenging in mores ways than one. Some days I truly do feel very different from the rest of my fellow students and today was one of those days. I have to admit I went to class excited for the lecture today on political psychology and its implications for political behavior.
It was when the professor asked if anyone ever watched Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News. I raised my hand. And then he said, "well like anyone would watch the news every night. And I said, "I am somebody & I watch Brian Williams every night." Then one of my classmates said, "well sure my parents watch the nightly news, they don't have a life." And I thought, so I am a full-time student just like you but because I make the time to watch the news and stay informed, I don't have a life. It kinda got under my skin. I also watch Bloomberg News and read The Economist...To me that is life...real life on what is happening in the real world that will effect each and everyone of us.
Besides...is the only reason to get a college education to make money? Isn't it also (and maybe more importantly) to be educated and to think and to be informed. Not one of the classmates said they watched the news. Some said they were too busy on Facebook. Now there's living a life!
What I find most interesting about today's lecture was on what influences political behavior. We watched Obama's February 2008 "Yes We Can" speech set to music and sung by pop musicians. When the students were asked how they felt after watching that they were stating how it makes them want to vote for Obama. One girl said when she saw it in 2008 that she felt sorry for her parents and other republicans. All I could think of was that 5 minute advertisement for Obama was using everything we were learning in the class on how applied social psychology works to influence and change behavior in the direction they want. It made me think this stuff really works!
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