An historic election is only 19 days away. No matter which candidate you support, it is more important than ever to get involved and assist in electing our next president. Students and young people across the country are taking their role in this election and the political process very seriously. From volunteering for the party of their choice to registering voters, and everything in between, our generation is getting involved like never before.

And some are going even further.

David Modigliani, a Harvard grad with an MFA from University of Texas, is an ordinary 20-something who went to extraordinary lengths to involve himself in the political process. Modigliani saw an issue in the Bush administration and politics in general and wanted to get the real story.

“I started this project because I felt duped. I didn’t know Bush wasn’t from Crawford, Texas. When I found out that he’d moved to Crawford in 1999, a couple of months before announcing his candidacy for President, I realized how well the creation of a folksy, aw-shucks small town political persona had worked. I consider myself an educated citizen, but I could have sworn he was actually from Crawford. I had bought the narrative without thinking twice.

I wanted to see this town he’d made into a symbol. And I wanted to make a film indicting him for it.

As it turns out, I found something much more compelling – the people of Crawford, Texas itself. It’s been thrilling to see audiences meet these characters – to see the ways in which their lives change profoundly over the years. So, thankfully, CRAWFORD is not a film about George W. Bush – who wants another one of those? – it’s about a tiny town thrust into big time politics. It’s a look at the Bush era through the eyes of the people who’ve had a front row seat. It’s about a town that goes from 15 minutes of fame to ground zero for 20,000 protesters — becoming a microcosm for national conflict in the process.”

So he made the film. And now you can watch it right here. For free.

This movie is not about Democrats or Republicans; it is about politics, lies and is more than relevant during this election season. So watch it, own it, talk about it, then get to the polls; you don’t have to make a film to have your voice be heard.

Well, I went to college, and I even did my parents one better and went to graduate school. Armed with both a BA and MFA, I was certain I could pretty much get any job I applied for, and would get paid 35K at the minimum.

Ha. Ha. Ha. And I’m not alone. Not only have most of my friends with MFAs scrambled to find anything to pay the bills post graduation (working at Borders, in a file room…with freaking MFAs!!), but it seems like degrees in general are losing the battle to inflation.

According to this really long and slightly boring article from the Wall Street Journal, college degrees no longer carry a promise that you’ll immediately grab a job and get paid in awesome wages.

“What employers want from workers nowadays is more narrow, more abstract and less easily learned in college.

To be sure, the average American with a college diploma still earns about 75% more than a worker with a high-school diploma and is less likely to be unemployed. Yet while that so-called college premium is up from 40% in 1979, it is little changed from 2001, according to data compiled by Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal Washington think tank.”

So yes, going to college is better than not going to college, but your diploma just ain’t worth what it used to be worth — especially in today’s economy. What it comes down to in 2008 is a small group of skills that sets you apart from other applicants, not just the fact that you have 4 years of psychology classes under your belt.

The moral of the story? If you know what you want to do once you graduate, get real world experience now. Internships and extracurriculars have never been more important, and fostering relationships with people who might hire you in the future is a great way to be sure you won’t be working minimum wage with four years of a good, quality school under your belt.

[photo from farylrobin.blogspot.com]