stand up or shut up.

A couple weeks ago, I sat in amazement while listening in the Open Forum held on campus to discuss the university’s budget and program revision plans. People were pissed. People had opinions. And no one was scared to talk about them. And now I sit at my desk and I look at my calendar and we are currently in the month of April in the year 2009. It’s strange to think that the closest I’ve gotten to a protest or a riot is sitting patiently and getting nervous when someone nicely asked a question that I thought was going to strike a wrong nerve with someone else in the auditorium. Frankly, I was anxious for the potential confrontation. Which is strange, because if we rewound through history, we could place ourselves in a time when you could simply go into the streets and start a quasi-revolution with your neighbors over the prices at the local market. A few years ago, when I would read about widespread National Disapproval of our Present, I thought: why is no one doing something about this? Why aren’t we standing up for our rights? So even today, if there are so many problems that need to be fixed, and so many people are being so negatively affected, then why aren’t we standing up and saying something about it?

There are a few ways to look at this issue. One would be that we think our concerns will go unnoticed. What we have here is the typical “my vote wouldn’t count” or “what good can one person do?” analogy that has been a negative attribute in our society around election times forever. Throughout history, the complaints of the people have often gone unnoticed. Six years ago last month, when our troops went into Iraq, the American people let out an almost unanimous breath of discontent. Many people wondered why we were putting ourselves into that position and for what valid reasons we should stay. Sure, reaching out and lending a helping hand to a needing neighbor is something that we should all encourage, but if our country is being divided over it, how much help are we giving our own country?

On the opposite side of the spectrum, maybe people feel that their concerns are actually being addressed and dealt with, thus not needing to say anything. Since the election of President Obama, it seems that many people feel as if the problems they have will be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel very soon. The Obama Administration is reassuring to many people: they seem to accept that our country is not in the best place and that there is a lot of change that needs to happen before we can start to sleep a little bit more easily at night. So until that day comes, a lot of folks are wading time and keeping faith in the leaders of our land to see us all through.

Another way to think about it is the current status of technology in the world. In my opinion, technology separates us in a much more serious fashion than we may have previously thought. Sure, as I sit at my laptop and write this, I’m falling victim to that as well, but when was the last time you went somewhere and didn’t encounter at least one person with their cell phones in tact, furiously texting away? And I know for a fact that more than half of most college campuses are filled with constant Facebook-ers, constantly updating their statuses to inform everyone of their own issues. So, why are we limiting these problems to our fingertips? Why aren’t we speaking out and escaping the blog-osphere and letting people hear what our issues with our world are today? We can’t help to get rid of the poor public school systems or resolve the same-sex marriage issues and come to an understanding if we don’t act out on our most often passionate feelings on the subjects.

Something else to consider is the thought that there are many people who remain completely uninformed of issues that threaten our daily lives because they are not in the direct aim of fire.  Mommy and Daddy gives them enough money to support their shoe fetish and have enough left over to spend on booze over the weekend, so they keep themselves detached from what people are calling the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. It is our responsibility as citizens to make ourselves knowledgeable of the problems around us, whether they directly involve us or not. We shouldn’t wait around to get shot in the face to know about the Gun Show Loophole travesty. There is no time like now to start opening your ears and eyes to what is around you.

Or maybe people are simply embarrassed. They don’t want to say anything about those people at work who are getting laid off because the company they have been working for since before their last child was born is going under. No one wants to upset the American Dream: two and a half kids with a white-picket fence around beautiful homes. Sometimes admitting that you have a problem is the hardest part. But instead, it seems that people are satisfied with keeping their mouths shut and struggling to pay their bills at the end of the month.

Things have got to change. We can no longer sit idly by while we see our rights being taken away or our worlds changing in a way that we don’t want it to. The fate of our country – and more importantly, our own future are constantly at stake and who better to fix our problems than you and me? It is our moral obligation to search for hope in a time when hope can seem so far away. Whether it be going to an open forum and expressing frustration with your academic program losing funding or standing up as being a busy arts student saying that your days are packed and making people aware of it, we can all do our job in simple revolutions that shape our world. Anger can turn itself into something powerful; whining on your Facebook status or personal blog is no way to effectively promote change. However, using those as means of civil advancement is a starting point. That very anger can inspire real criticism, nonviolent public noncompliance. Only then will we be able to improve our shared society into a place we all want to live – furiously invading the streets, taking a deep breath and actually talking to one another about our issues. We are currently in a pivotal moment in history and apathy is killing the nation; so, honestly we need to stand up or shut up.