I’m not quite finished yet. Remember this video from last year?
How is it that individuals could have been so enthusiastic, so rowdy over a particular person’s victory in a presidential election, and then subsequently stop paying attention to any of his policies?
Now, I’m not talking about the entire IC population here, nor am I even providing statistical evidence to prove my point. However, anecdotally speaking, I have conversed and debated with a number of students on campus about issues of various political concerns and I have to say, most of them seem to focus on specific forms of anti-Obama rhetoric (which we do see much of today, particularly in conservative media), which they render unproductive.
I wouldn’t disagree with that thought, but what about their own criticisms and admiration of Obama’s Administration? I’ve read blog posts, heard discussions, and perused Facebook statuses that attempt to show the world an opinion, but none of them seem to extend beyond superficial analysis that really tells me “I’m not authentically invested in this issue.”
Saying you don’t “understand why Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize” or why “he’s sending troops” and then ending the dialogue there does nothing for both yourself as an individual, a college student, me as a responder and reader, and the society in which we live as a whole.
I would also like to use this blog as a call to action to both myself as a participant of equally hypocritical behavior at times in my life and you as viewers. Engage in politics if you would like to discuss them and attempt to understand other perspectives. If you want to claim apathy, that’s fine, too, but remember, the personal is always political.
I don’t mean to sound preachy, if that’s how I come off, but honestly, let’s keep in mind the ways in which we have portrayed ourselves as politically active college students in times of an election and not forget that the world of politics doesn’t cease to exist after a Republican has been denied the White House.
Peace, love, and all that jazz,
Chris.
