It starts with...One thing, I don't know why...
Ladies and gentlemen, I will be heading to the capital of our nation on September 9th and will return in mid-December. In Washington D.C., I'll be working for Senator Reid. Tasks include random things from working the phones to relay messages from constituents to doing research on upcoming bills. Of course, I'll be able to dress up like I'm at a debate tournament every day, so buying new dress clothes has become the top item on my agenda before I leave.
I was talking to Rebeca in the car today about how people get all excited with the idea of traveling to a Third World country to help people there in some way. Joining the Peace Corps. is almost like the "cool" thing to do after one graduates from college, and why wouldn't it be? You make crap money, live in deplorable conditions, yet help members of a community. I've thought about this phenomena of post-undergrads wanting to live in destitute conditions and have come to the conclusion that more members of this country are fascinated with the idea of "finding themselves" than other nations. Okay, I can see the Generalization Police going nuts on that last statement, but the fact is, Americans are all about trying to find meaning behind everything. It is very difficult for us to see something happening and focus directly on what we see. When we got attacked on 9/11, our eyes automatically turned to the Mid East and the terrorists that presided there. We were so passionate about finding "Who" or "What" did this to us that we simply overlooked the simple question of "Why." Why would any group dare to go to such lengths to harm us and why weren't we ready for it? Now, years later, we're finding out about how we were misled, how our passions were manipulated to send us into a war that had NOTHING to do with the 9/11 attacks. We're finding out that our president actually did have information but that intelligence agencies simply didn't pick up on it because their thumbs were stuck too far up their asses. The point I'm making is that if we simply look at where we are, we see that we can "find" ourselves within our own nation. Individuals who get into the Teach for America program get high props for me because they are tackling problems that exist in our own streets. Keep in mind, I never said that I'm giving them more respect than the people who go to other countries, but the difference between me and a lot of people is that I cannot place higher importance on global issues over national issues. Yes, poverty and illiteracy exist in Uganda and parts of India, but what about the inner-cities of America? Have we become so obsessed with "finding ourselves" in foreign lands that we have turned our eyes away from the strong issues within our own cities. Are we in such a hurry to buy a plane ticket to a city in South America that we forget that parts of southern California will still have persisting problems when we leave? Have we not seen the reports of minorities in impoverished parts of our country not having enough education to read and thus being unable to read the names on a ballot or lack the educational basis to comprehend political issues and voice their opinions on them? Are we so ready to throw our lives to those who cannot speak our first language that we forget to listen to those who need us here, in our own nation?
Let take a moment here and tip my hat to my Republican friends who have expressed the idea that education is a privilege and thus, should not be extended to everyone. In fact, they argue that if post-secondary education were given to EVERYONE (God forbid) the overall value of having a Bachelor's would decrease, and we all know about the plethora of jobs out there available to B.S. or B.A. degree holders. But my reply to this is simply, what's wrong with the idea of trying to give everyone enough educational basis, maybe not through books and problem-solving, but some sort of basis to help them become a more active part of our country as a whole and not just their local community. Why not join an organization to spread political activism, why not join a grass-roots political campaign? Hell, sell your soul to the devil and throw away your vote like a moldy piece of bread and join Nader's campaign-- at least you're doing something to be a part of our system.
I have nothing against people believing in more of a global cause. I think it's fine that people want to do some kind of service to make themselves feel better about helping another life in a foreign nation, but I believe as a citizen of a country that boasts the ideas of liberty and equality for all, that our responsibilities belong to our own country first. I am not saying that I would never join some kind of service, I am simply saying that you don't have to travel a few thousand miles to find meaning to what you want to be or to find a goal in life.
A few of my liberal friends who are further left on the "Dude, it's all good" scale than I am would ask me about how "enlightening" it was to go to India or how it must have been awesome and that I must have found some sort of meaning being all the way over there. While I don't deny the spirituality that is inherent in the streets of India, I would be a liar to say that I found some deeper meaning to my life while being there. When you see poverty and filth, you don't think about how great your life is or what kind of change you want to make in the lives of these people. You get depressed thinking how no matter what you try to do, these people will always live a life with not as many riches as we have here in the states. What's even sadder is realizing that their kids will enter the same cycle. You see the result of a nation that has no system of welfare and what happens when a government simply can't take care of its people. But we live in a nation that has the capability of taking care of everyone in some way or at least giving us the freedom to make a difference in the system, shouldn't we attempt to give some part of lives to that cause?
I am going to D.C. because I want to see firsthand, or at least as close as possible, the law making process. If you want to get into public policy, you gotta start at the bottom with no pay. I intend to do so and come back with some sort of empowered feeling of how our system works. Maybe then I can look to other nations to lend a helping hand.
I was talking to Rebeca in the car today about how people get all excited with the idea of traveling to a Third World country to help people there in some way. Joining the Peace Corps. is almost like the "cool" thing to do after one graduates from college, and why wouldn't it be? You make crap money, live in deplorable conditions, yet help members of a community. I've thought about this phenomena of post-undergrads wanting to live in destitute conditions and have come to the conclusion that more members of this country are fascinated with the idea of "finding themselves" than other nations. Okay, I can see the Generalization Police going nuts on that last statement, but the fact is, Americans are all about trying to find meaning behind everything. It is very difficult for us to see something happening and focus directly on what we see. When we got attacked on 9/11, our eyes automatically turned to the Mid East and the terrorists that presided there. We were so passionate about finding "Who" or "What" did this to us that we simply overlooked the simple question of "Why." Why would any group dare to go to such lengths to harm us and why weren't we ready for it? Now, years later, we're finding out about how we were misled, how our passions were manipulated to send us into a war that had NOTHING to do with the 9/11 attacks. We're finding out that our president actually did have information but that intelligence agencies simply didn't pick up on it because their thumbs were stuck too far up their asses. The point I'm making is that if we simply look at where we are, we see that we can "find" ourselves within our own nation. Individuals who get into the Teach for America program get high props for me because they are tackling problems that exist in our own streets. Keep in mind, I never said that I'm giving them more respect than the people who go to other countries, but the difference between me and a lot of people is that I cannot place higher importance on global issues over national issues. Yes, poverty and illiteracy exist in Uganda and parts of India, but what about the inner-cities of America? Have we become so obsessed with "finding ourselves" in foreign lands that we have turned our eyes away from the strong issues within our own cities. Are we in such a hurry to buy a plane ticket to a city in South America that we forget that parts of southern California will still have persisting problems when we leave? Have we not seen the reports of minorities in impoverished parts of our country not having enough education to read and thus being unable to read the names on a ballot or lack the educational basis to comprehend political issues and voice their opinions on them? Are we so ready to throw our lives to those who cannot speak our first language that we forget to listen to those who need us here, in our own nation?
Let take a moment here and tip my hat to my Republican friends who have expressed the idea that education is a privilege and thus, should not be extended to everyone. In fact, they argue that if post-secondary education were given to EVERYONE (God forbid) the overall value of having a Bachelor's would decrease, and we all know about the plethora of jobs out there available to B.S. or B.A. degree holders. But my reply to this is simply, what's wrong with the idea of trying to give everyone enough educational basis, maybe not through books and problem-solving, but some sort of basis to help them become a more active part of our country as a whole and not just their local community. Why not join an organization to spread political activism, why not join a grass-roots political campaign? Hell, sell your soul to the devil and throw away your vote like a moldy piece of bread and join Nader's campaign-- at least you're doing something to be a part of our system.
I have nothing against people believing in more of a global cause. I think it's fine that people want to do some kind of service to make themselves feel better about helping another life in a foreign nation, but I believe as a citizen of a country that boasts the ideas of liberty and equality for all, that our responsibilities belong to our own country first. I am not saying that I would never join some kind of service, I am simply saying that you don't have to travel a few thousand miles to find meaning to what you want to be or to find a goal in life.
A few of my liberal friends who are further left on the "Dude, it's all good" scale than I am would ask me about how "enlightening" it was to go to India or how it must have been awesome and that I must have found some sort of meaning being all the way over there. While I don't deny the spirituality that is inherent in the streets of India, I would be a liar to say that I found some deeper meaning to my life while being there. When you see poverty and filth, you don't think about how great your life is or what kind of change you want to make in the lives of these people. You get depressed thinking how no matter what you try to do, these people will always live a life with not as many riches as we have here in the states. What's even sadder is realizing that their kids will enter the same cycle. You see the result of a nation that has no system of welfare and what happens when a government simply can't take care of its people. But we live in a nation that has the capability of taking care of everyone in some way or at least giving us the freedom to make a difference in the system, shouldn't we attempt to give some part of lives to that cause?
I am going to D.C. because I want to see firsthand, or at least as close as possible, the law making process. If you want to get into public policy, you gotta start at the bottom with no pay. I intend to do so and come back with some sort of empowered feeling of how our system works. Maybe then I can look to other nations to lend a helping hand.