2008 Woodie Awards
We think we know, but we have no idea
Muhlenberg Weekly Executive Board
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Op/Ed
We stated in last week's editorial that the campus should try becoming more involved. While we still stand by that, we decided to acknowledge the idea that action for the sake of action is not worth it. While going through the top news photos of the day, we were struck by just how much is going on in the world right at this very moment: the deaths of prominent religious leaders, the growing tensions around the now demolished Gaza-Egypt border, as well as the many tribal and civil wars that are raging throughout Africa, and we realized that we were unaware of the majority of these events happening.
President Bush's final State of the Union Address, for example, certainly was a rude awakening. Over the last few years, we have undoubtedly heard of all these issues, but how much do we really know? Our attention is both grabbed and lost by the words and issues that seem so familiar, and yet so abstract. We know we should care, and we do, but how much of that is pressure from what we hear? Our parents have molded our beliefs throughout the years, and their influences can hardly be avoided (and they probably shouldn't be). But now that we live here, away from home, it becomes difficult to know which beliefs are ours, and which we know are popular and therefore take to be right.
The constant Bush bashing that we see on posters and television has created an atmosphere of uniformity. Whether they are justified or not isn't the issue. What matters is the way we conform. There will always be the alpha male or alpha female who decides what is worth standing for, and there will always be those (ourselves included) who jump on the bandwagon, not wishing to be left behind. We are not doubting that the Student Body has much knowledge of politics and current events, but we are also concerned about the pattern of followers who are so uniformed that they latch on to popular opinions and nothing more.
It is not about being a revolutionary - or making the entire world aware of these events, truly, it is about caring and wanting to know what is going on. By taking a second to slow down and look at how much is going on in the world, you may find yourself with a brand new perspective. Because as Thomas Paine said, "We have it in our power to begin the world over again."
President Bush's final State of the Union Address, for example, certainly was a rude awakening. Over the last few years, we have undoubtedly heard of all these issues, but how much do we really know? Our attention is both grabbed and lost by the words and issues that seem so familiar, and yet so abstract. We know we should care, and we do, but how much of that is pressure from what we hear? Our parents have molded our beliefs throughout the years, and their influences can hardly be avoided (and they probably shouldn't be). But now that we live here, away from home, it becomes difficult to know which beliefs are ours, and which we know are popular and therefore take to be right.
The constant Bush bashing that we see on posters and television has created an atmosphere of uniformity. Whether they are justified or not isn't the issue. What matters is the way we conform. There will always be the alpha male or alpha female who decides what is worth standing for, and there will always be those (ourselves included) who jump on the bandwagon, not wishing to be left behind. We are not doubting that the Student Body has much knowledge of politics and current events, but we are also concerned about the pattern of followers who are so uniformed that they latch on to popular opinions and nothing more.
It is not about being a revolutionary - or making the entire world aware of these events, truly, it is about caring and wanting to know what is going on. By taking a second to slow down and look at how much is going on in the world, you may find yourself with a brand new perspective. Because as Thomas Paine said, "We have it in our power to begin the world over again."