The word "my" is defined as "of or relating to myself, especially as possessor, agent, object of action, or familiar person." I don't think that word adequately describes my relationship with our country. If I were to somehow possess this nation, I would be able to control what happens there; but I'm not. Citizens in general (especially minors) have extremely little control over our government; even adult citizens who can elect their representatives are motivated by false pretenses. Potential voters are bombarded by a multitude of facades put up by professional actors trying to capture the largest demographic...so...(?) that they can coerce them into supporting their candidacy even if the Voter opinions do not. agree with that of the candidate. Politics is a land of half-truths and empty promises. I believe our government could be run more honestly "by the people" if we held nationwide votes on all proposals, laws, etc., that would otherwise pass through the legislature. . These referendums, in fact, could be used to eliminate the current legislative power and replace it with a much larger and more representative power: the American people. I think this would be an interesting idea to test at the county or state level. Thanks to the Internet, this would be much more feasible today than it would have been 15 years ago. While this is a fairly radical idea, I think it would be an improvement to elect representatives with their own personal agendas that may differ widely from their "valiant" causes that are paraded in the media and who are supposed to be those that the candidates defend. . This action would help reduce the risk of corruption in our government, but would not completely cure it. C...... middle of paper ...... but the normal elections that we have every two, four and six years). I recently took a field trip to Purdue University where we learned about computer science as a career opportunity. It opened my eyes to how attractive careers in this field really are and the great impact this field has on our country. If I am to follow this path, perhaps one day I can help improve our electoral process. America is considered a very promising land for many people from other countries, but it still has many flaws that show how greedy and power-hungry it is. our culture is. Once we stop being self-centered and only worrying about money, we will be able to run our country fairly and in a true democracy. Until these changes occur, as a normal, powerless citizen, I will always be America's me. But when can you be too optimistic? these wrongs are finally righted, I will be proud to say "This is my America.”