Anti-Negativity

The more I hear about issues outside of the U.S., the more I don't understand why there isn't a movement of some sort to change things or interference of other countries to settle conflicts. I sound rather naive to make such a statement because I know I'll be responded with, "People don't really give a crap unless it affects them".

Is it national pride? Are things really out of hands to the point where political leaders have to look the other way to confirm their denial and continue with their reckless decisions? It affects more than the targeted enemy you want to capture or conquer, think about your country's people, their citizens, their families. It's just sad to see documented footage of a country falling apart due to violence. I'm not just talking about our country, but places like Uganda with children from ages 8-14 are abducted from their homes to become soldiers, or the 50-70,000 Russian neo-Nazi skinheads attacking immigrants. It's not new news because it's old, yet it still continues on.

I think this post is more of a reflection of how much I've grown since I've gotten to college. Yeah, I know, sappy. My classes this quarter especially has made me a lot more aware of how much younger community back then has done so much to change things. Not just the younger community, but everyone altogether. This kind of goes back to my post about ethnic studies, how the 3rd World movement magnetized a huge amount of participation to fight for a cause. I wasn't even born back in the '60s/'70s and it was exhilarating to watch so many people on the streets, marching, yelling, singing for a cause that meant the world to them. Why can't we make that big of an impact on history again?

My Sociology, Asian American Studies, and now my Linguistics class has in a sense woken me up. The rich history of anti-war and racial movements really fascinates me, all those documentaries we've watched in class and the material we've read about how strongly a belief can influence thousands of people. It makes me feel ashamed for the present time. We're stuck in a reality where we tend to take things for granted and assume that it doesn't need to change for the better because it's "okay" right now. I just question the validity of international allies and how corrupted our world really is. You would think that one nation's misery would be a model of what other countries should avoid and help to prevent. It just makes me mad that there are so many people out there that are worse off than our country and there isn't enough aid to help those out of their hardships. I feel kind of bitter and am harboring a semi-Yuri Kochiyama spirit about change, 'cept I don't think I can ever be a radical like her.

Again, this post, like my ethnic studies post, is probably incoherent.