The Winner Takes All - Elections in Britain

Today we learned about the political system in Britain, and one of the topics we read about in our book was called ”the winner takes all”. Counting the votes in Britain are still done by hand, and while people are counting these votes, the candidates for the election are waiting in another room. This is some very nervous hours, because the system of representation in the UK is the “first-past-the-post” This means that only one candidate is elected, and that is the candidate with the most votes. If there are four candidates, one vote can decide who gets elected to parliament. The other candidates can go home and get on with their normal lives. This also mean that the people who have voted for one of the other candidates but the person that wins, have, in a sense, wasted their vote. Is this unfair? Many people think so, because of this system makes it very hard for middle-sized parties to have a voice in their country.

"Lions for Lambs"

Two weeks ago we saw a film called ”Lions for Lambs”, witch is a 2007 American drama film about the connection between a platoon of United States soldiers in Afghanistan, a U.S. senator, a reporter, and a California college professor. Two determined students at a West Coast University, Arian and Ernest, follows the inspiration of their idealistic professor, Dr. Malley, and attempt to do something important with their lives. The two of them make the decision to join the war in Afghanistan. Now, as Arian and Ernest are fighting for survival in the field, Dr. Malley attempts to reach a privileged but disaffected student, who is the very opposite of Arian and Ernest, his name is Todd. While Dr. Malley chats with Todd, a mission that Arian and Ernest is a part of goes terribly wrong. The two boys ends up in enemy territory, and the movie ends with both of them getting murdered by the enemy, Taliban. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. Senator Jasper Irving, is about to give a bombshell story to a TV journalist that may affect Arian and Ernest's fates. As arguments, memories and bullets fly, the three stories binds more tightly together, revealing how each of these Americans can have a big impact on each other and the world.

Professor Malley wants Todd to get involved, and I believe that he means that Todd needs to wake up, and do something with his life. He is a very talented boy, and Dr. Malley tries to make him understand that he has to use his talents. Todd is very critical towards how the political system works in America, but at the same time he does not want to get involved and do something about it. When Dr. Malley says to Todd that he needs to get more involved, it almost seems like he wants him to join the war, but that’s not what he means. I believe he wants Todd to get involved and, for example by joining a political organization, and getting the opportunity to make a difference in the society.