UT, Rollins, BC college Essay

“To some degree it matters who's in office, but it matters more how much pressure they're under from the public. “-Noam Chomsky

Social apathy has consumed our nation. We rarely see large and organized protests in the streets anymore. Mass demonstrations were something from the sixties with only a few instances since then. When America’s confidence in itself is at an all time low, one would think that we would be called to action, not simply absorbing the lies American media throws at us. With the political arena pretty much dominating the television these days with talks of hope, change, economic growth, Texas tea, and war, America must first wake up and smell those expensive fumes we love. This is a nation for the People, by the People. Our government should work for us, and we should work for them by supporting each other. No more of this meek approach where we get led like a blind cow to the slaughter house. These next four years we need to demand answers for every action. Why are we still in Iraq? Why are we leaving? Why are we giving billions to oil companies who are making record profits? Are you sure you want someone who’s always steadfast in his decisions running our country? I think I would prefer someone who is a little unsure some of the time. Even Abraham Lincoln was questioning himself when he abolished slavery. It might seem like an obvious answer now, but we must think through everything and read the evidence because well informed decisions just reduce the marginal error.

Overall I would call myself a big believer in humanity, but when I turn on the news, my faith shakes a little bit. People fall for anything these days; it’s disgusting. I think America just got tired of asking, “Why?” After 9/11 this whole country got thrown off-kilter and now we are having a hard time picking ourselves back up. We figured out that Osama was the culprit quickly, but then in our blind loyalty to the state, we let the government put every bad guy on the planet on one deck of cards and set them up as targets. We drew such a hard line between good and bad that all of the sudden the war against terrorism basically became poor Christian boys versus poor Islamic boys. I’m all for justice and freedom, and I’m willing to go die for it, but someone please remind me what we’re fighting for because I’m sick of seeing Isaac and Ishmael killing each other.

My fellow Americans in these next four years lets never stop asking questions. Never let anyone tell you the word “why” is a threat to our good nation, even when you might be facing the majority. Most might disagree, but to an extent there is definitely some truth in Howard Zinn’s quote:
“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.”