Since the fall of the Soviet Union, America's role in the world has become very clear. The delicate equilibrium of a bipolar world has been replaced by U.S. hegemony, and either with economic pressure or military action we have the ability to impose our will on any sovereign state in the world. Because of this power, we are free to act for our independent interests and the interests of our allies while the rest of the world is expected to act within the legal boundaries of a democratic world order, namely the United Nations.
The current state of the world puts American citizens in a very delicate position. Because of the power that the United States possesses, most Americans feel relatively safe. Our military is bigger and better and our weapons are stronger making it foolish for anyone to mess with us. At the same time, however, our security has recently been challenged on our home soil. We have been made painfully aware of the vulnerability our position of power puts us in. We are an obvious target to be held responsible for much of the suffering throughout the world.
In a democracy every citizen should consider himself a politician, with both a voice and a vote. As new members of that voting body I don't think that college students are taking that role seriously enough. Every time I discuss politics with a foreigner I am humbled by my lack of knowledge not only of world politics, but even American foreign policy. There is a total lack of political knowledge amongst the average American, but even worse; there is a total lack of interest. I don't know how many times I've heard someone say that they just don't care about politics as if it's some past time like sports or pop culture. If we put as much effort into reading one paper a day as most do in scheduling their lives around the debut of \The Real World,"" I would have much less to complain about.
Our freedoms give us a voice that most people in the world are not so lucky to have. In some cases, we have more say on what will happen in another country than its own citizens. Madison is notorious for a history of political activism amongst the student body but even as a campus reporter I have heard only a whisper of a political voice today. Not only are many people not involved in any political activity, but I've heard more times than I can count from people who don't even vote, because they don't ""know"" anything about the candidates (as if it wasn't their responsibility in the first place to acquire that information). As far as I am concerned it really isn't an option, it is an obligation to be constantly updating yourself on the political state of affairs.
As Americans we are part of the most powerful state in the world in which we have freedoms that give us a very powerful voice in our government if we choose to use it. My point, however, is that it is not a matter of choice. It is a responsibility to the rest of the world. If we are the democracy that we claim to be, then the rest of the world has every right to hold American citizens accountable for the actions of our state. People say they just don't care, or they are not interested. That is because our way of life, in the small world that we live in on this campus, or in suburbia is not directly affected by the state of the world. But Americans have a responsibility to those in other countries who have no voice. Don't just vote for who your parents vote for, or think what they think. Don't let the government tell you who the ""bad guys"" are. Listen to what they say and then search out more, check and make sure that you have your own information to decide what you think. We are obligated to educate ourselves so that we can use our freedoms to improve the conditions for other people who are not so lucky.
We are responsible to read the news. We are responsible to go out and challenge our government. It is not unpatriotic to disagree with American policy, in fact, our right to challenge the government is the very essence of what American patriotism is. We are not just citizens of America we are citizens of a world whose very existence is being threatened by our apathy. Another day I will tell you what I think about specific situations and both your agreement and your disagreement will be appreciated because it will mean that you are not apathetic, and you care.
Those who are taking their responsibility as American citizens seriously are so rare on this campus. The few political organizations here are working themselves to death to try to make us aware of what is going on in the world. They are trying to open our eyes because this is not a time for blind indifference. I am guilty of being lazy just like everyone else, because it is easier to ignore such devastation than to take responsibility for it. But I am here, on my hands and knees, begging you to educate yourselves about the world, read various periodicals, both mainstream and non-mainstream. Then pick a cause, any cause, because if every American put themselves whole-heartedly into improving the situation of the world, we would not see ourselves in the state we are in today.
