Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

COLUMN: My world view
By Alex O'Neill
The University Times (U. North Carolina-Charlotte)
02/16/2007

(U-WIRE) CHARLOTTE, N.C. — "In her scrupulous and pellucid prose, she appears to distance herself from the optimistic Californian light." — Cynthia Ozick, "What Writer's Writers Write," New York Times Magazine, January 2, 2000

Overall, I feel that today, everything revolves around money. I don't think that this has changed much; in the past, it was just less obvious. Today, we are inundated with millions of advertisement and ways to spend money. Corporations are money hungry at the expense of their employees — look at Wal-Mart, for example. People could care less about anything besides their own lives. I can't blame them for this, due to the society into which they are born, where the illusion of security in entertainment and material possessions clouds the minds of the common human. People only know what they have experienced, and it seems that today, people are happy with knowing as little as possible — it's convenient.

Today is the age where ignorance isn't bliss. If you are ignorant, you will pay the consequences. The American Dream, as we know it, has started to disappear, and people no longer have the luxury of daydreaming about their big day of fame. The rich are getting richer, and everyone else is getting the shaft. Money buys education, which buys power. Money stays in the hands of the powerful and out of the hand of the common person. Knowledge is power today, and I feel it is the only way out of this depressing forecast of society.

I may seem somewhat negative, but I feel that it is straightforward. People who only think positive things and refuse to face reality have it coming. People who think negatively are too caught up in brooding to actually do anything. It seems as if there is no hope for the political, societal and economical realm. Things are just getting worse, but some people wish to cover it up. I refuse to accept this and wish to help others do the same. Today, people are in more debt than ever. Debt is how 'individuals' with money and power stay in control. It seems like a pellucid idea, but it's important to receive education on a higher level in order to survive. Americans can't expect to live the life of Oprah.

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