I ask for the forgiveness of habitual readers of this column as to what will follow. For those who are reading this column for the first time, suffice to say that the following thread of thought is not what regularly constitutes this opinion piece.
This week’s submission will vary in several ways. First, you will find that I will be using the first person, which is normally anathema to my sense of writing and in my opinion is generally detrimental to opinionated literature across the board. However, what I am about to say is personally very important to me, and I feel that the added emphasis derived from the first person is absolutely necessary. Second, rather than focus on a current foreign or economic event and its implications, this opinion piece will address a somewhat more pedestrian yet still critically important issue, one which is fundamental to the success of my generation and all others to follow.
As regular readers will know, the main thrust of my articles focuses on globalization, economics, democracy and their impact on one another. In several discussions of late, however, I have been shocked at how ignorant students are of these issues (I do not use ignorant in the negative connotation, but merely to show a lack of knowledge). This is unfathomable to me; these forces are far and away the most important issues of our time.
Do not mistake my intentions for a moment. I am not writing to harp on the “shameful apathy” of college students, this “decidedly uncaring” generation. It is not apathy, for apathy connotes a decision having been made to not care about an issue. To make that decision one must have been exposed to the affair and rejected any involvement with it. The plain and simple truth is that many college students are simply unaware of global trends and discussions that will shape our world.
The importance of this cannot be understated. In everything I have read, seen, heard, and experienced, I have come to the conclusion that we are at a tipping point, and momentum is already carrying us forward. The increasing liquidity of global capital and access to previously untapped labor forces hold unimaginable benefits for the global population, chief among them respite from poverty. Poverty is one of the most fundamental global problems that needs to be addressed, and urgently. Those who are economically destitute have no hope for the future, so they turn to martyrdom for radical Islam; those who cannot afford clean water or sanitation die by the thousands to curable diseases; scarce resources and a lack of free and open institutions force nations and societies to war with each other; lack of access to cheap and clean technology necessitates that harmful and dangerous processes continue to destroy the environment and endanger the health of the poor. To quote The Economist, my favorite publication if you had not discerned that by now, “Far from being the greatest cause of poverty, globalization is the only feasible cure.”
Hand in hand with globalization must be the much-aligned spread of democracy. People cannot take full advantage of the opportunities available to them unless they can decide the future of their country and hold their leaders accountable. The best method of spreading democracy is still up in the air; I certainly don’t have all the answers even though I often act like I do.
These are all basic facts that everyone should know; they are essential to understanding the current shape of things and where our world will be ten, twenty, fifty years down the road. Yet it seems that few students on campus have even a working knowledge of that which will dominate every aspect of our lives, from job searches and career choices to where you take your vacations to whether you have another kid because you can’t afford the gasoline to drive to soccer practice every weekend.
I’ve always hoped that my articles are educational to at least one person. If so, then I’m doing my job. However, in light of the scary truth I have uncovered, I’ve decided to accent this aspect. During the next two weeks, beginning Tuesday, Oct. 31 and running on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I will be writing articles giving brief overviews on four topics (globalization, the spread of democracy, poverty, and international crises) whose understanding, in my opinion, is paramount to being able to navigate, much less influence, the radically different world we will find ourselves in in a few years.
Rather than just reading my articles, I much prefer engaging and interesting discussions, so I encourage you to contact me. I would be happy to listen to any opinions on the matter; substantive discourse is vital to advancing new ideas and our own intellectual development. My e-mail is listed at the bottom of this article.
Finally, I firmly believe that this generation is as great as any other and indeed has so many opportunities that previous generations could only wish for. We have to opportunity to reduce poverty, spread democracy, and raise standards of living everywhere. To even begin to take the first steps, though, we must educate ourselves.
About the writer:
John Jose is a first-year accounting, international studies and Chinese triple major. He can be reached at [email protected].
