Newspaper Editorial In-the-Making

“Ain’t it a wonderful country?”
By B------M--
Front Page Editor

Four emotions drift through my mind after reading about what this country’s senators are up to: attaching spending appropriations to legislation that is fiscally irresponsible. I feel initial interest, momentary impassivity, infuriation, and then hopelessness. Up until the time I picked up the newest GQ issue with Jake Gyllenhaal’s face plastered on the front, I chose to be aware of only a certain amount of information about what goes on in the world outside of my own.

There are times when I really read up on international and U.S. politics, and there are times when I simply don’t care about the world around me when I am pit deep with my own troubles. I don’t directly feel the repercussions of this country’s $9 trillion national debt, nor do I really face many social problems like racial mistreatment and economic challenges. Let’s face it; most Americans are living in the same state of indifference that I am.

The more you know, the less you know. What am I supposed to do with the information I attain from reading? These past few years have taught me that I can’t do anything, nothing that will really make a difference. I find that really sad. What am I supposed to do with the anger towards the Bush administration and the direction this country has turned to? Nobody ever talks about action.

The word “revolution” is always used and the word “fight” is also thrown around a lot whenever I hear someone talking about change. I don’t see the reasoning in being aggressive. What is it going to get me? To get anyone? It’s insured you will lose. Look at Cindy Sheehan. As far as I can see, she hasn’t really changed the Bush administration’s grip on continuing to send troops to Iraq. She goes out and tries to make change. I haven’t seen much change as far as I can tell. I can’t sacrifice myself for society. Fear of failure wins over any “change” I desire. And maybe therein lies the problem to the citizens of the United States: Ignorance is bliss.

Information is useless if we don’t care for it. Why is it that the public doesn’t talk about the $500 billion we borrow from China every year even when up until a year ago almost every major U.S. newspaper publication was accusing them of building up their nuclear weapons to prepare for a “cold war” with us? These accusations were highly exaggerated and that isn’t important to the people here because we’d much rather talk about what happened last night on Grey’s Anatomy and American Idol. Why dwell on these grim topics when the Senators and Congressman in this country are supposed to do that for us?

The simple fact is U.S. Senators and Congressmen are taking advantage of our indifferences. Last year, something was slipped under the 2006 Transportation Budget: a personal project in Alaska that allocated $223 million on a bridge connecting 50 people of Gravina Island to the coast. Do 50 people really need a bridge worth over $200 million so they can get to the coast when this money could be spent on something more important for people who really need the money? For example, people who really live in hopeless poverty in this country.

I understand how some Senators push for their personal state projects to be passed that are within reason, e.g. the large amount of money that will be directed to the municipal system in San Francisco or other such projects, but there are a whole lot of personal projects that should never see the inside of the Senate floor. Does Senator Robert C. Byrd really need an expressway, drive, industrial park, high school, or international transportation center named after him? How big of an ego can you have to use your taxpayer’s money for such superficial things?

The American people should be extremely discouraged to read up on issues they should be taking seriously. With all the power and control these senators have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on these personal state projects that are government waste, what can we really do to stop them?