So, why should I or others be surprised that in a Peace Studies class offered at Columbia College Chicago students talk about peace but do not cry out against the Iraq or Afghanistan War, the bombardment of Gaza by Israel, the genocides going on all over the continent of Africa in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Sudan, or torture and abuse which turn men into fighters who wish to bring about more brutality and violence in the world?
Why should I be surprised that I who take it upon my self to follow news events closely and even analyze and respond to the stories sometimes am the only one in classes who know why an art exhibition on the Congo Women would be coming to my school? Why do I happen to be the only one who knows that hundreds of thousands of women (if not millions) are being raped because rape is being used as a tactic of war in a genocide where millions of people have been maimed, injured, and killed?
The students say, they don’t know because they don’t watch the news; it’s depressing. They don’t like to watch it because when they hear it they don’t know what to do. They hear it and it is overwhelming and the violence and brutality is happening everywhere so how can it possibly be stopped; they can’t do anything and are powerless.
Poor, pitiful artists! How can you be an artist and not think you can create anything that will help? Artists hold the power to tell stories and draw attention to terror and horror in a way that no other profession can.
And, it only gets worse with the 9/11 Generation as the financial doom and gloom continues to spread like a cancer. The 9/11 Generation becomes more and more focused on how to get by---how to pay the rent, pay for food, pay tuition, pay for health care, pay for transportation, pay the taxes, pay for student loans, pay for clothing, movies, music, and alcohol.
Each time the 9/11 Generation has time for Them, the generation considers Us or better, instead of We, they think Me. Students adopt a phony realism that bureaucratic government officials, policy wonks, and elitist newspaper editorial writers too often believe; the 9/11 Generation are adults who act like suburban kids and yuppie adolescent.
Hedges asked in “It’s Not Going to Be OK”:
“How will we cope with our decline? Will we cling to the absurd dreams of a superpower and a glorious tomorrow or will we responsibly face our stark new limitations? Will we heed those who are sober and rational, those who speak of a new simplicity and humility, or will we follow the demagogues and charlatans who rise up out of the slime in moments of crisis to offer fantastic visions? Will we radically transform our system to one that protects the ordinary citizen and fosters the common good, that defies the corporate state, or will we employ the brutality and technology of our internal security and surveillance apparatus to crush all dissent?”
Sadly, the time may have passed for my generation, not just the 9/11 Generation but the YouTube Generation, to do anything about it.
Unless another election extravaganza comes around in the next month or two, unless we are planning on beginning the next presidential election now, I see no reason to believe that college students will begin to heed any one who is speaking of a new simplicity or humility. I see no reason to think that there will be any mass action toward radically transforming our system to protect ordinary citizens and foster a common good
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
