Democracies are formed to serve the people, right? Well what happens when the citizens of tomorrow don't care? I found myself asking this question after this little incident....
I was in one of my classes, International Current Events, and a group of kids were ushered in by a teacher to listen in. I glanced back at them as we were discussing what makes up a terrorist organization (post to come about that too...) and saw that 98% of them were nearly falling asleep. I wanted to grab each of them by their collar, shake them and say "This affects you!!!! September 11th!! Remember? Hey, wake up! This stuff matters! We don't live in our own little bubbles anymore!" While I didn't exactly go that far, I did walk over to one of them and ask them whether or not they thought this was interesting. It went a little like this:
"Hey. Do you think this kind of thing is interesting?" I ask.
"What thing?" The kid replied with something like a sneer on his face. Stay patient, I told myself. Breathe. It's all for the greater good...right?
"You know...international events. What's going on around the world."
"No." Great start...
"Why not?"
"Because it doesn't affect me." Oh wow. I knew I was going to start lecturing. I can't help it...I get frustrated with apathy!
"It doesn't affect you? What about Iraq? Afghanistan? What about the world economy going down the drain?" This is approximately where I got cut off by this little gem:
"Am I getting bombed? Am I getting shot at? Then I don't care."
I tried for a little longer but by the end of it he was just sneering. Arrogant little ****. Anyway, to bring it back to my original question....
So what do we do when the citizens that make up a democracy just don't care? How do we educate our peers so that they get aware? Answers would be awesome, but here's a few that I came up with:
1. Don't lecture them. Instead, involve them. Show them just how important this is. I know most won't sit around for a good, long talk about this but maybe just little hints as you're hanging out with your friends. Maybe bringing up a policy issue, or something important going on around the world. Making it cool to be aware will make it that much easier to really involve people. If our parents could do it, why can't we?
2. Read the news. Up to date info is the most important piece of awareness. Expanding the circle can't happen without knowing what you're talking about, right?
3. Remind them that a democracy is for the people, not to the people. If we all understand that our responsibilities go beyond just walking to a booth and checking off some marks on a paper we'll be better off by far. Our President should serve us...not screw us over.
Food for thought....or not. Democracy...or not.
