jordan tolbert
TV, Instagram, Twitter. All sources of endless knowledge at your fingertips. The issue is not lack of knowledge, but a lack of awareness. This generation is losing its drive to know what is going on around them, oblivious to the price we will pay in the future.
Of course, it seems as if what happens outside of America isn’t important, yet world affairs play large roles in our economy, safety, and government. For example, Isis did not seem an object of concern for the U.S. until someone from America was killed.Only too late do we realize the cost of being ignorant to the world around us.
Lee Raskin, AP European History teacher at MC, is familiar with the issue of global awareness being endangered in today’s society.
“Not keeping track of events forces people to make rushed, uninformed decisions based on inadequate data. The fact that you ignore the world does not mean that the world ignores you.”
Being naïve is one of the largest mistakes an American can make; also one of the riskiest. Global awareness prepares America’s youth for the real world and gives insight into the things that go on outside of the “bubble”that has encompassed our society today.
Modern news’ goal is to target younger viewers in hopes of educating not just our youth but our future businessmen, political leaders, and teachers. Without a background of global awareness, people are essentially useless in dealing with foreign as well as domestic affairs.
Also, the relatively new technology (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) are so easily accessible that information is overflowing from our small phones and laptops.
“Teens today seem to be more narcissistic and self-centered than past generations. You guys actually think other people care what you’re drinking at Starbucks or that you’re stuck in traffic… and maybe they do, but I think that the boom in social media and the way it’s generally used by young people leads to individuals thinking that they are more important in the world than they really are,” Raskin said.
The issue at hand deals with the fact that it’s the importance of what we know that allows us to gain wisdom, and not how much we know. We do not know everything, but we should strive to know what’s important. Our generation’s tendency to be self-centered in situations by saying “how does this affect me?” instead of “what can I do to improve it?”
Tons of magazines and websites are crowded with images of famous people and scandals, and the news is losing popularity. “Not only do world events affect us, but current events are what history looks like when it’s happening.” Raskin said.
The ignorance of uninformed Americans can be traced back to their selfish nature that will only grow worse if action is not taken. In schools, in the office, and in homes, news should be a part of the average American day. We need to wake up and realize that real news is a source of information we should never take for granted.
