Casey McGuire
chm003@marietta.edu
Following the first Presidential debate on Sept. 26th, a particularly enthralling Facebook discussion captured the attention of freshmen student Ryan Wheatley. Parsing through the arguments for and against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in November, Wheatley stumbled upon a picture within the comment section that deeply resonated with his own political tendencies. “After seeing this picture, the message really got to me and allowed me to realize what priorities I hold politicians to on certain positions,” Wheatley said. “If you ignore foreign policy, our diplomatic ties with the entire world will collapse, and we just can’t let that happen.”
The original sharer of the image, Keisha Arnold, revealed to us that she was unaware of the impact she created by sharing the image. “I just saw someone else retweet it and thought it was kinda funny,” Arnold explains. “I don’t really pay attention to politics, so I just contributed with something I thought was a silly picture.”
When asked with what frequency she shares memes, Arnold was unable to provide an exact answer, but did include that, “Normally I don’t share anything political, but I’m a sucker for puns. I probably won’t even vote.”
Wheatley admits that prior to the Facebook thread, he didn’t even know Arnold. “It’s funny isn’t it? How some stranger can totally change your voice in the fate of this country just from a clever image,” Whitley added. Following this interview, Wheatley continued to share the image, saying he “hopes to inspire someone the same way this inspired him.”
The article you have just read is an interpretation of the author’s views on this election, and in no way indicates the opinion of the Marcolian. If the previous article upset you, or inspired you in one way or another, the best course of action you can take is to register to vote. Ohioans have until Oct. 11th to register. Contact the Office of Community Living or the Office of Civic Engagement (OCE) to obtain a form and make your voice heard this election.
