Having lived for several years in Saudi Arabia, I’ve developed quite a different perspective on our society here in America. One thing that has just jumped out at me is the complete apathy of many Americans. Here, people live in a tiny, well-fortified bubble, but it is a bubble encompassing an entire nation. Everywhere I go I find people who are not aware of — or don’t care about — some of the most important events in today’s world. The Downing Street memo, domestic spying, possible nuclear war with Iran — all of these topics are pressing, but they are very much unknown or ignored here.
Back in the Middle East, everyone in my high school was aware of international events and crises. They actually understood what was happening, too — they didn’t just know that something was happening. Many Americans know there is a war … and that is about it. The rest is a bunch of patriotic jargon. If you confront them with startling issues that they don’t understand and can’t explain, they say “terrorism,” which apparently is a sufficient answer.
Most students seem to think they are highly aware and very active, but they are largely misinformed. Here at BU, the students who are in political groups, write for the newspaper or are on the debate teams are politically aware (even if some are very close-minded), but the other thousands of kids seem to be aloof to everything outside their own lives. This is frightening, considering the United States is a world superpower.
In the most recent election, the rest of the world waited anxiously for Americans to fix their “little problem” (that is, the fact that George Bush was in office). When the results came in, the international community was in shock, if not despair — another four years. In my high school, people had trouble understanding how Americans could vote like that. They didn’t realize that the United States has an embarrassingly low rate of voter turnout. Most Americans simply don’t care enough to vote on who will lead the world’s superpower. I used to wonder how people here could be so apathetic.
After I moved back, though, I realized how little the actions of this country affect its citizens. In the middle of a hideous war you can come to the country of the aggressor and find absolutely no sign of war. The only people who are affected are the families of soldiers. Americans still wake up, get their Starbucks, go to class, watch movies, cheer on their favorite sports teams and so on, while the rest of the world is being directly influenced by the decisions of their leaders. The Iraq war, diplomatic relations with Iran, economic competition with China and India – millions of people think about and are influenced by these things every day, but not Americans.
They say that ignorance is bliss, and Americans definitely live in a state of bliss. But I would argue that this bliss is the result of something different. As one of my professors put it, “To foreigners, Americans seem innocent.” When you live in the Middle East, or anywhere other than here, you experience things that most Americans only watch in movies or simulate in video games. You know what is going on with the war, the casualties, the politics, and you watch the news for signs of which country is next — because it is going to affect you or someone you know.
But alas, this age of bliss is coming to an end. The world is coming closer and closer together, albeit very reluctantly. We become more and more affected by the events we put into progress, whether it’s because of our soldiers fighting in the Middle East or our gas prices going up. I just fear for the people who seem so cozy as they decide which club to go to, or how much to bet on the Super Bowl.
My advice? We all need to become more aware of the world today. And everyone needs to take a role in the progress of international events. We are Americans. We have the most power in the world to effect change because of the great democracy we have established. But when we let it all go to waste, we disappoint the world and we fail ourselves. We all like to brag about the greatness of our country; now we need to show that greatness by participating in the political process and taking advantage of our freedoms.
Sufia Khalid, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, is a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at [email protected].