TV replaces politics on priority list

I was pleasently refreshed by the commentaries from both Brittain Whiteside-Galloway and Joseph Moore in last week's Echo. I believe both of the articles to be related in nature. Moore's observation about the lack of patience exhibited by students when another student is simply trying to match up their own experience to the material being taught is very insightful.

I have noticed this trend as well. I have also noticed the amount of silence that follows after professors ask questions.

I am forever in amazement by the lack of thought, or at least the vocalization of opinion or idea by students in the classroom.

The case seems to be that a number of students just want to get their degree and go. But, I also have another theory. Whiteside-Galloway quoted a student as saying: "At our age, we're self-involved. Topics like politics aren't as intriguing or stimulating as other forms of entertainmnet."

How true this is. Robert Bly, an American writer and poet, said that men have gone from politics to therapy due to the belief that nothing can be done to change anything.The shootings at Kent State during Vietnam was a turning point for American college students who died for what they believed.

This incident scared the students straight and since then we have not seen any serious protesting against war from studnets, at least here in America.

The youth love conflict. They watch it on TV, sports and video games.

I personally cannot think of many students politically aware enough to have a good blood-warming debate.

It is too bad the energy used for watching television, sports and playing video games could not be used to possibly change this nation.

We fight the battles on Playstation that we should be fighting in Town Halls. But then 100,000 more dead in Iraq or elsewhere just isn't fun to talk about over dinner, is it?

None of this is about conflict. It is all about comfort and our continuing refusal to particpate in anything which is uncomfortable.

I really wish our students could understand the connection between our comfort and the people whose lives in other nations are on hold until we do the right thing.