Revolution. Once upon a time it was a Beatles song, then it became a Nike ad. But where did it go from there?
In the past, college campuses have been the breeding ground for change. Idealistic young men and women spoke their minds, rallied and protested. They fought for a cause, whatever that particular cause might have been.
Our memories of Vietnam are colored by images of the Kent State students. That was a time when students had power. They had a voice. And not because it was given to them. They demanded it, fought for it and won it.
We are growing up as the children of the men and women who fought-when they were our age-against what they saw as the injustices of the time. Civil rights, women’s rights and Vietnam were all issues in which students were actively involved.
So what happened? In the time of the Patriot Act and the war on terror, there is little to no student involvement. Does this mean all students agree with the way our country is going these days? I doubt it. It is more likely that we simply do not care.
We have watched MTV for far too long, drowning in insipid shows focusing on rich kids whose biggest problems involve which designer swimsuit to wear for the weekend in Cabo. Is that really more important to us? Or is it just easier?
Now, if you happen to be one of those in full support of the Patriot Act or the war on terror, fine. Whatever floats your boat. I am not here to argue over the Bush administration. There are plenty of issues today that we should be concerned with, one way or the other.
The American youth have shown themselves to be a force to be reckoned with in the past. But lately, we have lost our voice. What others worked so hard for, we let slip away without even the slightest head turn.
I am not saying that we need another Kent State incident on our hands. That was a sad day that we could live without repeating. It’s the feeling that we need.
We need to become part of something bigger than ourselves, to care about something more. We need to stand up and be heard. It amazes me that the world goes by, unnoticed by students. And yet beer on Sundays gets attention. Have we forgotten the recent smoking issue? Seriously.
We plaster our walls with posters of John Lennon, Che Guevara or a number of others who were once looked up to by America’s youth. And yet we do nothing. The world is not all sunshine and daydreams, but we act as if it is.
One day not so far away, we are going to have to live in a world that we have taken no part in, a world that we have allowed others to create.
John Dunne once said, “No man is an island, entire of itself.” And we are no different. We can sit back, and passively watch the world go by in our Nike tennis shoes. That does not change the fact that we are still a part of it, though. Whether we like it or not, we are affected by the decisions made by our leaders.
How have we become such a lazy and uncaring generation? We can no longer go on minding our own business, simply existing. We have to take a stand, start caring and start becoming a part of the whole. We need our voice again.
What happened to “Revolution” has happened to us. It went from having meaning to being a means to an end, a means to sell shoes.
Stand up. Start a revolution. Be heard.