Saying goodbye, questions and hopes for next year

Eric Hill

Opinion Editor

This morning I woke up to discover that a car bomb was almost detonated in Times Square in New York City. A few weeks ago I woke up to discover that an oil tanker exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, leaking 210,000 gallons of crude oil per day. A few months ago I woke up to discover an earthquake had hit Haiti, killing thousands and destroying a country. Every day I wake up, read the headlines and form an opinion about what has happened, why it happened and what should have been the course of action.

Today is my last entry as the Opinion Editor of The Commonwealth Times. Nearly 50 issues, about 150 pages of material and all I can think is “kukubara, that is a lot of bad news.” Financial crisis, environmental destruction, warring nations, corruption, scandal and death have been the subject of my editorials. As a friend of mine once said, “I never want to watch the news again.”

They call good news “fluff” these days, because the media always puts the bad stuff out front. It’s like newspapers have become murder mystery novels, and we’re the detectives trying to figure it out. Was it the Democrats or the Republicans? Which cabal is responsible for this explosion? Can you spot the terrorist? It’s no wonder people sink into pop culture television and try to forget the world, pretending that celebrities are worth watching, and that life is just one big show.

I started this position wanting to find answers to questions like, “What does the student body think about health care?” Just try talking to a sober person about politics. Most of the time they won’t say anything or they will give you a party line, or a sweeping generality like, “lower taxes are good for the American consumer, trickle down economics and beware a government takeover” or “I support Obama. It’s about time we got our fair share.” Well you know what? Those pathetic one liners aren’t good enough anymore. It’s a lie, and if you have any common sense you will do your own research and form your own opinions based on factual documents. No more Fox News and MSNBC bull. Go to the congressional budget office, read court documents, read foreign news and then tell me you aren’t being lied to.

I started this position wanting to find answers, and all I got were more questions. Why don’t people care about one another? Why do people use one source of information for everything? Why don’t people realize that no matter how good of a job you get, you will still be unhappy in a world where the headlines always read disaster? The answer I reached is that people are too busy—too busy to care, too busy to read, too busy to change the world. What you don’t realize is every time you nod your head, sign a slip, buy on credit, and tell your friends that party line, the more acceptable it is to continue living blindly.

This past year we have pretended our way through a lot of terrible disasters. We have pretended that our banks aren’t filled with robber barons, that the environment will continue to take our abuses without reply, that Jews and Muslims in the Middle East aren’t attempting to start Armageddon with their brinksmanship, and that you don’t make a difference.

Let’s stop pretending.

This is what I hope will happen next year, with your help. First, please vote. It’s more important than you believe it is. Second, the next time someone says something outrageously ignorant, don’t let them get away with saying it. The less you express yourself, the less you exist. Third, don’t do something without knowing the reason why you’re doing it. Most of your life you’ve behaved without knowing where your thoughts and opinions came from, a lot of the time they aren’t even yours. Fourth, don’t immediately believe the news. Most of the time the truth is buried, so check your facts. Fifth, believe in science. You might have a religion, you might not, but science is our best shot at improving the environment. Finally, do not ever believe that you are not partially responsible for everything that happens in the world. Every individual can change things, every individual can form an opinion. Yes, everyone is equal.

Well that about wraps it up folks. Thanks for hearing me out this past year, I hope you all will write into the paper next year, if you aren’t graduating. If you are graduating, then write your local paper, it’s a good way to vent at the very least. Take care, and good luck with all of your endeavors.