By Greg Horner, Staff Reporter.
When I was little I remember reading “1984,” “Brave New World” and “The Hunger Games: Part 2 Catching Fire” with hopeless optimism that the world would never look as depicted in those books. But now Trump is running for president, America has always been at war with the Middle East and my mother only communicates with me through Candy Crush invites.
It’s no surprise everyone believes in conspiracy theories these days, the real story is just too depressing. So how is anyone supposed to stay interested in the world around us when we’re living in a postmodern dystopia?
First let’s address how we got in this situation. I wish I could say it was all the rich oligarchs and the media that have gotten us to this point, but we’ve been compliant the whole way. It’s all our fault, every single one of us. I’ve actually been screaming against this brick wall since I was six so I don’t see how it’s my fault, but if I said it was all your fault you would accuse me of being condescending.
This might not be the society we need; but so far it’s the society we deserve. This is the place where it’s cool not to care, where we avoid talking about issues because we know nothing about them. Where an entire generation has been raised never seriously confronting the problems of our day. Everywhere you look things are falling apart, whether it’s the condition of our infrastructure, the strength of our schools or the integrity of our government. Still Americans refuse to look at their day to day lives and take a stand.
But when taking a stand is so unpopular what are we supposed to talk about? Sure we might mention our jobs and communities but for the most part we’re talking about ourselves. Because talking about anything bigger means we might not agree with everything everyone else is saying, and suddenly we feel uncomfortable. I understand it might be awkward. But if someone is challenging your worldview, have some self-respect and disagree.
It’s time for us to realize that if we’re all to blame, we’re all in this together. It’s time to start talking about our society, or god forbid, even politics. Everyone thinks politics are combative and boring, but then constantly complain about the roads and the state of our local mall without ever realizing that things are connected. Politics aren’t just about elections, legislatures and ideology; at the end of the day it’s a conversation about the public good.
This isn’t the country where you’re free to pursue your dreams (if it ever was); this is the country where (most often) children of color are shot in the streets and called thugs on national television. We’ve embraced a culture that celebrates apathy and glorifies insanity and it’s time for everyone to start realizing that things aren’t okay. It isn’t right that a mass shooting happens almost every day without even showing up on the nightly news. It isn’t right that people still go bankrupt to save their lives. It isn’t right that so many young people only feel hope with a needle.
It isn’t good enough to just sit behind your computer coming up with new hashtags; social change has never been spread in just 140 characters. Change requires action and struggle. I’m not asking anyone to be a Republican or Democrat; I’m begging everyone to get involved. Nothing is ever going to change if we don’t start speaking out and reaching for like-minded voices. A movement isn’t possible with just one person but great things can happen with just two people.
