Many people believe that today’s college students care less about protesting and being involved than in previous generations. They argue that students care more about sports and music more than foreign affairs and learning. I find this generalization to be quite accurate. I would definitely rather watch the Patriots play the Giants than watch Super Tuesday later in the week. Of course, Super Tuesday has a much larger role in my daily life than a different football champion each year. Also, I am far more interested in watching “The Departed” instead of reading about the war in Iraq. We Americans live in a nation of opportunity and self-interests and these examples I just mentioned proved this. The war in Iraq and politics should be higher on my priorities list than football and movies, but the sad truth for me and most Americans is that it is actually vice versa. The fact that more Americans my age vote for American Idol than for George Bush and John Kerry combined shows that we only care about our own interests. Also, many Americans show ignorance when they believe voting is a waste of their time and when they say their vote doesn’t matter. Voting is one of our most important rights and without it, the government would have limitless power and consist of individuals that we the people did not elect. The fact that only half the population votes is scary to me. Additionally, college students would rather be entertained for three hours than receive cheaper health care. Some people believe that higher tuition costs, which forces more students to work, is to blame for this problem. I do not find this excuse viable because students don’t work every second they are awake. All students have some “free time” daily and the way they chose to use this free time, by watching ESPN or MTV over CNN shows that they care only about their short term entertainment and self interests. In short, I believe that regardless of working hours and other excuses, American students are becoming more and more apathetic because they only care about their self interests. I fall under this category myself. There is nothing wrong with voting for Eli Manning as Super Bowl MVP as long as you vote for one of the presidential candidates in this upcoming election.
College Student Apathy Thursday, Feb 28 2008
4:25 pm
February 29, 2008 at 4:34 am
I agree with most everything you say, and unfortunatly I fall into the category of spending my free time doing entertaining things opposed to catching up on the news. I do think though, that some students who have less money and are balencing school work and a job have no free time to become involved.
March 4, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Great post Travis! i especially think your last line is powerful (why i brought it up in class). People often jump to the conclusion that we should ignore pop=culture and become full-time activists. There is nothing wrong with that of course, but it is something that most people would tire of very fast. Your suggestion of a balance between pop-culture and social responsibility is something much more attainable to the average person. Thanks!
September 3, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Excellent site, keep up the good work