Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

COLUMN: 'Waiting' not a reliable way to change the world
By Killian Naylor
Oklahoma Daily (U. Oklahoma)
03/05/2007

(U-WIRE) NORMAN, Okla. — Over the last couple of weeks I've been struggling to resolve an argument with myself regarding one of my favorite songs. While, on the one hand, I really enjoy John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change" (he did win a Grammy for it), the message of the song goes against some of my most deeply held beliefs.

Though I'm still on the fence in regard to whether Mayer was pointing out the flawed state of our generation or suggesting we ought to wait, the internal dialogue has reinforced my opinion of the idea of "Waiting on the World to Change." My least favorite arguments include:

"Now we see everything that's going wrong/ with the world and those who lead it/ we just feel like we don't have the means/ to rise above and beat it."

Mayer is right: Our generation feels like we have no power to change the path our world is taking. Take, for instance, the 2004 presidential elections. Although 79 percent of the 55 to 64 age group registered to vote and 73 percent turned out, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that only 58 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds were registered voters while 47 percent of that group voted.

We do have the means to change things. Unless our system of government has drastically altered without my noticing, we still elect our leaders.

Even if our generation is only mediocre when it comes to participating in representative government, some individuals are taking the time and energy to make sure the next generation rises above.

Kian Ball, political science junior, is working to educate the next generation of voters on registering and the importance of voting. Her two-part project first ensures that all Oklahoma high school students will have easy access to voter registration forms on their campuses.

She takes things a step further by seeking to educate young voters about why it is important to vote and why each vote matters.

Short of starting a mini-movement, we each have the option to write our congressmen (or women), sign a petition, get involved in local politics or vote.

"It's not that we don't care/ we just know that the fight ain't fair/ so we keep on waiting/ waiting on the world to change."

I've got some news for Mr. Mayer; fair fights are a figment of our collective imagination. No one ever changed the status quo by waiting, and nothing worth fighting for was ever easy.

One classmate put it this way: "All change is a product of people."

Those people were Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Betty Friedan and others like them. (If you don't know who these people are, put down the paper and get on Google. Now.)

All of these people made a lasting, positive impact on the world and not one of them had an easy time doing so. Liberia's 'Iron Lady' was imprisoned in the '80s, charged with treason and exiled twice before she became president.

"One day our generation/ is gonna rule the population/ so we keep waiting."

I don't doubt we will rule the world someday, but, like the rapture, no one really knows when that day will be. That day could be next week, next month or next year.

Maybe we do have lots of time to sit around, but wouldn't we be better employed in preparing to run a nation as a part of a global community?

"Me and all my friends/ we're all misunderstood/ they say we stand for nothing and/ there's no way we ever could."

Even if our generation is misunderstood, the implication here is to just live with that fact, rather than to emphasize our strengths and work on our weaknesses.

We may not show up full force on election day, but according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, this generation is the highest volunteering demographic.

Maybe John and I agree that this "waiting" thing is a big mistake. Perhaps we both believe that our generation needs to continue pursuing change. Either way, I'll stop picking on his words.

I'll leave you with some of Gandhi's words instead: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

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