Discovering Politics

When thinking of my early memories of politics, the Clinton scandal comes to mind. I remember my parents watching the news reporting Clinton’s private life, sitting there in shock almost. Or maybe I was just the one in shock. My adolescent knowledge of politics were very naive of course, which is why I was surprised why people cared so much what he did outside the office. I didn’t understand why this was important to the American people. I was under the impression that political figures could perform their jobs and not be criticized for their private life troubles. I thought politicians especially would have a clear separation between their social, business, and private lives. I remember feeling kind of bad for Clinton because his personal problems were blasted all over the news. During that time you couldn’t get away from the Clinton affair if you tried. However, I quickly learned that most public figures do not have much of a private life, due to the media. Definitely the most memorable moment was his notorious claim, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” Younger, I thought politics was about politics. I didn’t understand much about it but I thought politician stuck to their tasks and didn’t venture off into tangents about private lives, secret alliances and whatever else goes on behind closed doors. This interested me to learn more about the American political system and government and the way they work alongside the media.