Thank You For Smoking

Should every government class watch the movie "Thank You For Smoking"?
I think so.

Besides the fact that Adam Brody is in it, Thank You For Smoking can be viewed as an educational film.

Many kids, including myself, are visual learners. After reading the book about interests groups I was still confused. After I had watched the movie everything became clear. Thank You For Smoking portrays the job of a lobbyist and what interest groups are like really well. Many people, like the students in Naylor’s son’s classroom, are unaware of what a lobbyist does. First the movie states that a lobbyist’s job is to talk. However, as the movie goes on the viewers travel through a life of a lobbyists, Nick Naylor. This is when I understood what being a lobbyist meant. I had not realized that being a lobbyist was more like a lifestyle than a job. Also, I gained the knowledge that lobbyist are not just people who have a strong opinion regarding something. Lobbyists are part of a bigger title, called an interest group. Before the movie I only imagined interest groups that related directly to government, like politics. Now I understand they could be about anything, even about tobacco. It seems as though interest groups are not for the ordinary people, but rather those who have a “name” in government. After seeing how ordinary Nick Naylor was, I began to think I was wrong. I was wrong. In fact, I know ordinary people who are a part of the interest group AIPAC.
Although this may have been “Hollywood” exaggerated, I did not comprehend how aggressive the enemy of the interest group/lobbyist could be. I was not even aware of the fact that people are enemies of certain interest groups. I only thought of them as fighting for good ideas.

Without Thank You For Smoking there would be many unclear things. The movie did not just make me understand the topic of interest groups, but it also got me thinking further. I got the past the idea of a lobbyist as somebody who talks and I connected interests groups to my own life.

Minority Candidates

Does being a minority affect your chances of wining?
This is an interesting topic because we have several candidates who are minorities running for the 2008 election. Barack Obama is African American, Hillary Clinton is a woman, and Mitt Romney is a morman.
To begin with, I think it is important for people to realize how great it is that these people have the right to be running.
I believe that minority will have an affect on the candidates. Although this is my opinion, I wish it were not true.
There are two main reasons why I believe that people will tend to not vote minorities.
First, racism is a powerful idea that many Americans hold close to. You might think that many people are past racism, but this is just in the case of some situations. However, concerning the presidential election, most people will not vote for somebody who is a minority they do not agree with. I know that I get “nervous” when somebody who is in charge of me is different than me. For example, I would feel uncomfortable to have a Catholic Male who has completely different views on life than me as a principal.
Second, although it may seem odd, most people will not vote for the candidate who shares a minority with them. I believe this because in case of something bad happening because of the president, the minority might get accused too. For example, if Mitt Romney was to make a bad decision people would began to stereotype the Mormons. Although this should not happen, it is extremely possible to do so. Just because one Mormon made a bad decision, does not mean that all Mormons would make that decision. Even more, a white Christian male could have made that same decision that Mitt Romney had made.

A recent article, found in Glamour Magazine, included an interview with Michelle Obama, Baracks wife. One of the questions was asking Michelle if she felt that her husband’s candidacy would be affected because of their race. She answered unsure of what will happen, but she said whatever happens they are prepared.
After reading this, I realized how great of an answer she gave. It sounded very professional. I thought that it was smart that she was not going to presuppose that her husband will lose just because he is black.

As am I, the media is very interested in this topic. Many TV show hosts are making funny (to some people) jokes about their minorities. To sum everything up, here is a quote to think about.


"Mitt Romney may run for president. Some wonder if a Mormon could be elected president……..



I think he'd make a fine president. He'd be standing up there with his 18 first ladies." --Jay Leno