I remember...

I remember being hot. Really hot. My face was red with anticipation. I was standing next to my friend Teagan, and we both knew this was the moment we had been waiting for. All of our year had come down to this moment. They were posting finals. Foreign Extemp first... and Teagan was not in. A quick glance told me he was upset, but that he would be fine shortly. And then United States... but no. Scanning the sheet multiple times, surely enough, my code was not on there. Then a quick look to Andy and Zach, and a look of depression on their faces. Duo was a no go as well. All of our seasons had come to a conclusion, and an unsatisfying one at that.

It was Winston Churchill who once said, "If you're going through hell, keep going." I don't really think I ever got this quote until the beginning of my senior year, when I think all that happened at Nationals in Kansas City finally caught up to me. It was then I realized I was going through a tough realization period, but sulking would no longer be productive. I had to use loss to motivate me. And somehow, I need to do that again.


Being so close to finals motivated me throughout the beginning of the year, and got me ready quite fast. I wanted to redeem myself, as I still do. I realized early on I could return and perhaps win, but it was going to take even more work than it dude my Junior year. Although the "MBA Experiment" went horribly wrong, there are still many challenges ahead. Qualifying back to nationals in the first place, all the obstacles that come with State Quals and State, TOC (perhaps), and NCFL (perhaps). But it all started with being so close, going through a rough experience, and coming out with even more motivation.


Pitt, I hope you read this, because this is where it is going to get interesting. I feel like if I am going to return like I did and peak at the right time, I need something to motivate me moreso than I had last year. I prepared extremely hard last year. I just need something to do that again. Now whether that is moving the trophy back so every time I wake up I see it and get angry, or just taking a picture of a national trophy and putting it on my bathroom mirror, I need something. And I am asking for a little bit of help with that, because I don't know exactly what it would be. Behind all of this post, I followed the assignment so I could ask for help with that, figuring you would be fine because the big purpose of doing so.

Post #1

In today's World, it is extremely easy to criticize people in leadership positions. I often find myself doing so to leaders in my research, specifically those in the political realm. With very liberal views, often that criticism goes towards conservative leaders, such as former President George Bush, or current House Speaker John Boehner. Often, however, I can also see myself falling out of line with important liberal thinkers such as Nancy Pelosi, or Keith Olbermann. This is why I think a good friend of mine really got me thinking in a new way when she asked the question "What would you do if you were President right now?". The context of the question was not rhetorical, but instead very constructive. So, I did the logically sane thing - I found the nearest hard surface, hit my head against it a few times, threw water on my face, retracted my thoughts back to a immature third grader, and came up with the following answer in two major steps.

The first thing I would do as President would enforce more Governmental transparency. Of course, there is no easy way to do this. It would require much innovation and creative thinking. But, I do come from the Show Me State, and that has always hit home. By showing the public what truly is happening in government, I think less people would be scared away from the idea of government in the first place. This could not only cause voters to become more knowledgeable of situations, but also perhaps inspire many to take on a bigger role in working together with government to provide favorable solutions. People have often demanded to see where all their money as taxpayers is going, or to find ways to reduce corruption and increase government to voter interaction. Now there are many ways to go about doing this. The first would be to encourage government to use tools such as the internet and non-partisan polling organizations to truly gather more information on what voters want. By educating legislators on these results more regularly, and encouraging the development of tools to simplify resoruces available to voters (such as websites for the Bureau of Labor Statistics and sites showing our actual budget, which are often criticized for being too complicated and not user-friendly), transparency could be increased. This would help the general public have a more positive and friendly view of government.

Second, amending our Legislative system to allow more progression would be on my agenda. Simply put, gridlock is favored in our current legislative system. Tools like the filibuster in the Senate create battles in Washington that cause no one the be victorious - especially the American people. Early this year, the Senate voted to remove its rule that allowed Senators to "privately hold" legislation without the knowledge of the rest of the body as to whom was doing so. This is just one move I think would be needed to create an environment where progress is held above all - progress that provides working together, instead of acting in spite.

In my mind, creating an environment in which voters are allowed greater participation and leeway in the system, and creating a system more apt to see progression, everyone is going to benefit. Now while there would be many concentrated efforts against these two reforms, at the end of the day, it would be my major agenda. Before any amount of legislation would pass, it requires creating a system that allows it to exist. A system that allows discourse. And that would be my major goal as President of the United States.