(no subject)
I saw Bill Clinton yesterday. He came to Mary Wash to talk on behalf of his wife. I stood quite near the front and cheered when he came on. He gave us a thumbs up. I was brimming with excitement. I like Bill. I like him a lot. As a president and leader. As a person, I don't know him. We don't talk on aim or hang out on school holidays. No - I don't know the man. And neither do you.
I'm not one to make political statements. I'll give you as much as this: when it comes to politics, there is only so much you can really know. The rest you have to hear from others, via anything. So I understand if you have pulled your opinion from other people's opinions to an extent. But there is an extent. I'll make that clear.
I stood near people who barely clapped and barely cheered. I heard "I never thought there would be a day where I would be clapping for Bill Clinton." I heard, "Obviously I don't really care about him but I thought it would be cool to see him." I heard "I know he's a terrible person, but I've never seen him up close before." I heard "I mean, I know he's the worst person ever but I thought maybe I should go see him anyway." I heard "I don't like him, but I hear he's a good speaker."
You understand.
Every one of those statements was filled with biased implications and a (rather rude) set of assumptions, stating that obviously the common thought is that Bill is not liked. But these kids (I call them that, because people who make such assumptions are generally child-like) were probably no more than 13 years old when Bill left office. So... where does the hate stem from? Parents? If so - I humbly advise attempting to grow up now.
[Moderate disclaimer. I am fully aware that there are a GREAT many bright 13 year-olds out there who are fully capable of making wise decisions and opinions beyond their maturity level, but when somebody (aged 18-22) makes a statement like those listed above I can easily come to the basic conclusion that they, most likely, were not one of those bright children.]
I can understand, "obviously", why many disagree with Bill "as a person". Bill cheated on his wife. And while the circumstances of such a sin may be somewhat unique... the sin itself is nothing new. I am sorry that Bill was caught because it ruined his reputation. It is unfortunate that he, of all people, should bare the brunt of an act many before him have committed. However, I don't really care that he did it if only because I don't really care about his personal life. It doesn't concern me and it probably never will. Being as that I have been given the information anyway, do I consider him a terrible person? I already told you - as a person, I don't know the man. Neither do you. So you can throw the first stone if you want, but I'd rather get something productive done.
Look, here's my point. (and again, I hate to make political statements, but I'm going to do it anyway). As far as I can see, the whole Lewinsky scandal was the worst thing Mr. Clinton did as a president. And, well, the last time I checked, giving an intern a cigar didn't result in nearly 4,000 soldier deaths. But again - that was just the last time I checked, so correct me if it's changed. But I'm fairly certain it hasn't.
We're college students. We've been granted the opportunity to seek new information, information in any form from any place. We are allowed to educate ourselves as far as we would like to go. We can get our hands on any piece of information at any time. We have been given the chance to discover the world (and all it's people) with an open mind using unbiased information. We have been set free to become our own person, to build our own individual, to create credible opinions and begin leading a new world.
Why, honestly, WHY then... are we still pulling information from a baby-boomer generation that we truly don't even relate to? Why are we still throwing about partial opinions with a tone of narrow-minded anger?
I thought we were better than that.
I'm not one to make political statements. I'll give you as much as this: when it comes to politics, there is only so much you can really know. The rest you have to hear from others, via anything. So I understand if you have pulled your opinion from other people's opinions to an extent. But there is an extent. I'll make that clear.
I stood near people who barely clapped and barely cheered. I heard "I never thought there would be a day where I would be clapping for Bill Clinton." I heard, "Obviously I don't really care about him but I thought it would be cool to see him." I heard "I know he's a terrible person, but I've never seen him up close before." I heard "I mean, I know he's the worst person ever but I thought maybe I should go see him anyway." I heard "I don't like him, but I hear he's a good speaker."
You understand.
Every one of those statements was filled with biased implications and a (rather rude) set of assumptions, stating that obviously the common thought is that Bill is not liked. But these kids (I call them that, because people who make such assumptions are generally child-like) were probably no more than 13 years old when Bill left office. So... where does the hate stem from? Parents? If so - I humbly advise attempting to grow up now.
[Moderate disclaimer. I am fully aware that there are a GREAT many bright 13 year-olds out there who are fully capable of making wise decisions and opinions beyond their maturity level, but when somebody (aged 18-22) makes a statement like those listed above I can easily come to the basic conclusion that they, most likely, were not one of those bright children.]
I can understand, "obviously", why many disagree with Bill "as a person". Bill cheated on his wife. And while the circumstances of such a sin may be somewhat unique... the sin itself is nothing new. I am sorry that Bill was caught because it ruined his reputation. It is unfortunate that he, of all people, should bare the brunt of an act many before him have committed. However, I don't really care that he did it if only because I don't really care about his personal life. It doesn't concern me and it probably never will. Being as that I have been given the information anyway, do I consider him a terrible person? I already told you - as a person, I don't know the man. Neither do you. So you can throw the first stone if you want, but I'd rather get something productive done.
Look, here's my point. (and again, I hate to make political statements, but I'm going to do it anyway). As far as I can see, the whole Lewinsky scandal was the worst thing Mr. Clinton did as a president. And, well, the last time I checked, giving an intern a cigar didn't result in nearly 4,000 soldier deaths. But again - that was just the last time I checked, so correct me if it's changed. But I'm fairly certain it hasn't.
We're college students. We've been granted the opportunity to seek new information, information in any form from any place. We are allowed to educate ourselves as far as we would like to go. We can get our hands on any piece of information at any time. We have been given the chance to discover the world (and all it's people) with an open mind using unbiased information. We have been set free to become our own person, to build our own individual, to create credible opinions and begin leading a new world.
Why, honestly, WHY then... are we still pulling information from a baby-boomer generation that we truly don't even relate to? Why are we still throwing about partial opinions with a tone of narrow-minded anger?
I thought we were better than that.