Trouble
I’m going to take a break from my normal political rantings to talk about our generation as a whole for a moment. I believe that our generation has been raised in a culture that believes in a “me first” philosophy that is incredibly dangerous to the future of this nation. We don’t believe in national isolation. We believe in personal isolation. The trouble here is that it leads us to seclude the ugly problems that occur in our own backyards.
There is so much poverty in Alabama, but you would never be confronted with it unless predisposed to seek out opportunities at addressing it. If you go through undergrad and get a normal job with benefits, chances are you could spend your days going out and shopping, hanging out with people just like you, and never have to encounter someone that might make you think twice about the way the system works. I don’t know if this is intentional or not, but it frightens me. We are so detached from the struggles of people in our own state that we can fight for lower tax burdens on our already luxurious lives without caring that there are people in true financial turmoil, and by that I mean people who are uncertain where their next meal is going to come from and how they are going to maintain housing.
Do yourself a favor. Go to a homeless shelter, drive into a delapidated neighborhood, or just step outside your front door and talk to someone about what is going on in their lives. Find out how they got to the point they are at now. Chances are you’ll find similarities and differences between your upbringings, but you’ll also be able to see the humanity in people who are different from you. It is in this kind of dialogue that relationships between the haves and have-nots can form, and these are the seeds of real change.
I can understand why people disdain religion these days. On the surface, it seems our religious institutions simply affirm our way of life without challenging us to truly improve the circumstances of those around us. The very faiths that call for justice are often used as safe-havens for what are, in essence, secular views. This can be disheartening at times, but it is not the whole story. There are many within the ranks of our religious institutions who see the need to provide a voice to those who are oppressed instead of simply helping themselves. It’s easy to ignore in a you-tube society, but it is there.
I would encourage you to explore what your core values are. What is important to you? Is it promoting your own status in society, or making a truly positive, lasting impact on society that will leave it better than you found it. Wrestle with the question, because if no one does, we could be in real trouble.
Philip Gibson
Columnist
philagan@gmail.com
