COLUMN: Do we care too little?

From Daniel Septimus', "I Know My Last Name is Septimus," Fall '00 From Daniel Septimus', "I Know My Last Name is Septimus," Fall '00Last week, the media buzzed with reports about preparations for the massive anti-globalization rallies that brought Washington, D.C., to a standstill last weekend. A number of demonstrations were planned to protest the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which critics accuse of keeping the Third World mired in poverty.From Daniel Septimus', "I Know My Last Name is Septimus," Fall '00Last week, the media buzzed with reports about preparations for the massive anti-globalization rallies that brought Washington, D.C., to a standstill last weekend. A number of demonstrations were planned to protest the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which critics accuse of keeping the Third World mired in poverty. In the days leading up to the April 16 IMF-World Bank meetings, I watched on TV as my fellow students, from universities across the United States and Canada, prepared to head down to D.C.From Daniel Septimus', "I Know My Last Name is Septimus," Fall '00Last week, the media buzzed with reports about preparations for the massive anti-globalization rallies that brought Washington, D.C., to a standstill last weekend. A number of demonstrations were planned to protest the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which critics accuse of keeping the Third World mired in poverty. In the days leading up to the April 16 IMF-World Bank meetings, I watched on TV as my fellow students, from universities across the United States and Canada, prepared to head down to D.C. And I, too, packed my bags.From Daniel Septimus', "I Know My Last Name is Septimus," Fall '00Last week, the media buzzed with reports about preparations for the massive anti-globalization rallies that brought Washington, D.C., to a standstill last weekend. A number of demonstrations were planned to protest the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which critics accuse of keeping the Third World mired in poverty. In the days leading up to the April 16 IMF-World Bank meetings, I watched on TV as my fellow students, from universities across the United States and Canada, prepared to head down to D.C. And I, too, packed my bags. So, with excitement, anticipation and a bit of uncertainty, I put my backpack on my shoulders and headed to the Quad for Spring Fling.From Daniel Septimus', "I Know My Last Name is Septimus," Fall '00Last week, the media buzzed with reports about preparations for the massive anti-globalization rallies that brought Washington, D.C., to a standstill last weekend. A number of demonstrations were planned to protest the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which critics accuse of keeping the Third World mired in poverty. In the days leading up to the April 16 IMF-World Bank meetings, I watched on TV as my fellow students, from universities across the United States and Canada, prepared to head down to D.C. And I, too, packed my bags. So, with excitement, anticipation and a bit of uncertainty, I put my backpack on my shoulders and headed to the Quad for Spring Fling. Yeah, that's right, I didn't go down to our nation's capital to roast the economic leaders of the free world -- instead, I stood behind a house on Baltimore Avenue and watched a pig roast over a pit of charcoal. Indeed, this is not a new phenomenon. While I have a deep respect for attempts to facilitate social change through direct action, I usually find myself absent from this sort of activism. Interestingly, each time I neglect the political outlet, I question whether I would have done the same thing a generation ago. What role would I have played in the 1960s? Would I have participated in the marches for civil rights? Would I have rallied to put an end to the Vietnam War? I'd like to think that I would have. I find myself disappointed by the fact that I wasn't able to partake in the social revolutions and political plights of our parents' generation. Let's face it, our parents lived during a cooler time and no one is ever going to let us live it down. It's absolutely impossible to hear about any protest or large outdoor concert without references to anti-Vietnam rallies and Woodstock. And, given the enormity of the anti-Vietnam campaign and the revolutionary nature of Woodstock, the events of our generation are fated to be less extraordinary in comparison. However, this belief that the 1960s established the paradigm for activism can be detrimental. My reluctance to participate in protests like those against the IMF and World Bank is a good example of this. I admire the passionate anti-war demonstrations of the Vietnam era -- they changed and defined a generation. But because of that, anything less exciting and monumental seems too inferior and marginal to warrant my interest and commitment. This needs to change. Our generation's issues are very different from the issues which haunted our parents. The Vietnam War was a very immediate and real concern for college-age students in the '60s -- they were the ones going to the front lines. No matter how much we are concerned about AIDS in Africa, we cannot possibly relate to the issue in the same way. Perhaps demonstrations and rallies are not the best way to get in touch with the issues that confront us. We must become attuned to what makes our generation unique -- and not define ourselves in terms of the 1960s. We have to realize our relationship to the challenges that confront our world and rethink how we go about addressing these issues. This is easier said than done. As a generation, we're not quite sure what makes us unique or what's important to us. In fact, it can be argued that we're the first generation to not have to care about anything because our parents' generation deconstructed "isms" and abolished military conscription. This gives us more freedom and potential opportunities, but it can also leave us empty -- fated to construct our identities and meaning from the rubble that remains. I do not suggest that we abandon political demonstrations entirely -- or outdoor concerts for that matter -- but living in the past is making our present stale. A group of neo-hippies chanting, "The people united can never be defeated," does not appeal to most members of our peer group. But that makes sense -- it is a relic of a time passed. It's time for us -- as a generation -- to become aware of the things that are important to us and find ways of confronting these issues and asserting our unique character in new and innovative ways.