We have all heard the rule: Do not discuss religion or politics. But I like breaking rules. I never want to be that person who shoves my own religious beliefs or political beliefs down anyone’s throat. We all know that person, and we all avoid him/her most of the time.
However, I do want to encourage people to get informed about the issues and form an opinion about those issues. We all owe it to our country to use our education for something more than résumé-building — we must be an educated population.
With that said, I think a lot of the media puts on blinders to certain issues and is therefore dumbing down the educated. I encourage you to get news from whatever source you fancy but to get a second opinion, too. The key to an informed opinion is just that — _information_. Do not take the words of a talking head as truth, and do not believe everything that you read. Do not even take my word as single fact.
We have become a society that is always plugged in to some sort of technology, and we are the first generation that has been able to learn with just one click. Yet, we use this not to learn about other cultures or to be involved in a cause – we stream reality television and get in arguments on Facebook. I am just as guilty of these things as the next person.
The generations before us overcame two world wars and still managed to discover cures for diseases and put a man on the moon. I do not doubt that my generation will do great things, but we must take a lesson from our elders. We have to remember that no journey is an easy one, and the best weapon we have to fight our way through this journey is knowledge.
It is easy to become swept up in political frenzies — sex scandals, corruption, Tea Partiers and Obamamania. These are not the things that change the world. What must be focused on are equal rights, the economy and how to build a better future for our people and our planet. When we become enthralled in trivial moments, we let the moments that could define us pass us by.
I urge you to find a belief or a law you are passionate about and to learn everything you can about it. With this knowledge, please, use it for the good of the world. We are finding fewer and fewer FDRs, Albert Einsteins and Susan B. Anthonys, and we are creating a lot more hatemongers, mass shooters and mouthpieces. The only way to stop this is to educate ourselves.
As students at a public university, we owe it to our country to become educated voters and tolerant citizens. Instead of protesting abortion clinics, we need to educate about sexual health. Instead of hating gays, we need to embrace love. Instead of yelling about gun control, we need to talk about the mental health of the country. When we become a society that is able to look past its own nose, we will be able to enrich everyone.
I am not telling you to agree with every political point I have made, but I am beseeching you to think about each point and how you feel about it. Do something to make the world the place you want it to be. I think the United States is heading in a very dangerous direction, but I intend to do everything I can to stop that from happening.
Our Founding Fathers were the free thinkers of their generation. They did not create a country for those who follow blindly. They created a country where we could all gather information and make the best decision for society as a whole. If Thomas Jefferson would have believed everything he had read, we would not have declared independence. If we continue to be complacent in the information we are given, we are going to lose everything we value.