This last weekend, I witnessed 45 minutes of exclusive coverage of the legendary “octo-mom.” During this breaking news story, I was riveted by a sea of sympathy-evoking images and stories. Anchors explained that mother Nadya Suleman, in addition to having given birth to eight children at once, also had another six at home, making her the caretaker of 14.
Calls were taken from viewers around the country as everyone wanted to put in their opinion about whether the woman was guilty of child abuse for having so many children or was a brave soul who simply loved her babies. While I’m sure that this debate had many merits as to its far-reaching implications, my simple response to the story was, “This is the news?”
It is for this reason that I blame the news for Americans’ lack of knowledge about the world around them. Throughout this 45-minute “must-see” story, a small sliver on the bottom of the screen was dedicated to other, less important stories.
Among these were the escalation of the civil war in Sri Lanka and news about the plummeting Dow Jones Industrial Average. This is the way that the American media treats the news. Let us enjoy sensational stories without end about the Obama children’s first day of school or famous pop stars having their hair shaved off, while the minor stories of international significance are cast to the sidelines.
This poor choice of priorities by the American media is demonstrated in many ways, but I think the most notable of them is that I would bet that more than 90 percent of the SMU campus can tell me the name of Angelina Jolie’s boyfriend, while less than 10 percent can probably tell me the name of the president of China, the country that is constantly fighting against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia, or the countries in Africa that have the greatest trouble with pirates.
But this lack of knowledge cannot only be attributed to poor priorities on the part of the media. The American people must recognize their own part in the creation of modern day American isolationism.
The American media can only be blamed insofar as we can blame a company for being profit-driven. The American media presents what people are interested in. It is therefore a reflection of the American mentality, especially amongst young people, that if we don’t pay attention to the world outside our country, then that world doesn’t exist. As rising leaders of the next generation, it is our duty to inform ourselves. This goal can be accomplished by a few, easy changes to our daily habits.
By tweaking our regular routines, we can become informed citizens with ease. Give “Entertainment Tonight” a rest and watch ABC, or if you’re feeling really ambitious, C-SPAN. Try listening to NPR whenever you drive somewhere. Set CNN.com as your home page. They place convenient, four-sentence summaries at the beginning of every article so you don’t have to sacrifice all that much time to understand its content.
By changing your morning routine and learning a little more about the world, maybe someday you’ll actually be able to put forth a decent answer when someone asks what you think of the stimulus package or whether you think America is threatened by the European Union’s growing power.
With so many problems facing our nation, ranging from a terrible hurricane season to a volatile economy, I still maintain that the greatest weapon that threatens our future is apathy. With a growing indifference amongst young people, we are giving a new meaning to the term “lost generation.” Let us recognize that, as Americans, we are not the center of the universe and let us demonstrate this recognition by becoming internationalists, free of national distinction. Let us be mindful of the world outside our own.
Alex Ehmke is a freshman political science, economics, and public policy triple major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
