I’m graduating in two months. I hope to find something to do that will make my life worthwhile. I care about a lot of things, but I often don’t live in a way that would lead one to believe so. I think that makes me similar to a lot of people in my generation.

At this juncture in my life, I’m consumed with my studies and have chosen to place myself in the comfortable, proverbial “college bubble.”

With my choir, I attended a service last week commemorating the last address given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the eve of his assassination. Rev. C. T. Vivian, a personal friend of King and a living legend of the Civil Rights Movement attended. To my surprise, Marsh Chapel — where King himself came to learn and worship years ago — wasn’t packed. It was hardly filled half-way. And I’m embarrassed to admit, had my choir not been asked to sing, I might not have known about it or skipped class to attend. But I’m glad I did.

After a whirlwind of song and prayer and an inspirational student address on the extraordinary “potential” of our generation, the impassioned Vivian approached the podium and, neglecting “formalities,” he pushed his prepared speech aside and began “talking” to us. He reflected on the character and words of his esteemed companion, King, drawing special attention to his final moments in Memphis, when he delivered his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” address, feverishly calling on Americans to join the fight for peace — at home and abroad.

King wondered if Vivian thought he was crazy for taking a public stance against such a controversial issue as the Vietnam War, Vivian recounted with a chuckle. Seeing as President Lyndon B. Johnson was the Civil Rights activists’ “friend in high places,” perhaps King was crazy to denounce Johnson’s war overseas.

King faced repeated warnings against delving into matters that were allegedly “none of his business.” Insane as he may have been to disregard those warnings, King saw it as his right and duty to protest simply because, as Vivian explained, wherever social justice was at stake, “that was his business.”

Vivian went on to express a sense of disappointment in the American public for doing relatively little to denounce the war in Iraq. He observed that even churches — which ought to have peace and social justice at their fundamental core — have not displayed a substantial amount of disapproval for the decisions of the government. Maybe this is because some churches don’t object to the government’s decisions, but perhaps another reason could be that such decisions are deemed “political” and thus “irrelevant” or “off limits” to the church. But at this point, the majority of the American people, regardless of political stripe, hold that many of these decisions have resulted in a humanitarian calamity. Since when has that been considered irrelevant?

But the public hasn’t been completely silent. On March 17, Washington, D.C. and a number of other cities across the country saw thousands of anti-war activists flock together to protest the war in Iraq. At the Pentagon, thousands of pro-war activists met, but the clash that particularly caught my attention was the one in Colorado Springs where a relatively small group of demonstrators marched in a St. Patrick’s Day parade wearing peace T-shirts. According to the Colorado Springs Independent, many of them were arrested and even dragged brutally on the street by the police on the grounds that the protesters were marching without a permit and with an anti-war message that was apparently a “violation.” The marchers demanded help from Mayor Lionel Rivera, who reluctantly agreed to meet with them but ultimately affirmed that he supported the actions of the police.

Indeed, even in the face of harsh opposition, some Americans have taken an active stance against the war; but have enough? The most recent Newsweek poll indicates that 67 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation in Iraq. The number of people actively expressing discontent — whether in writing, in a public demonstration, or a political dispute — doesn’t seem to measure up to this percentage, and I wonder if it will be enough to affect change in the future.

What can be done to address this disparity? Vivian said if you want to change something, you have to care about it enough, “more than your life.” This is what made King a leader. A lot of people say they care about something, but do they really care about it enough to take a stance? Do they care enough to make it their business to effect change? Students, to cite one of Vivian’s examples, often think, I’ll wait until I finish school. As soon as I graduate, I’ll take action.

“Guilty as charged,” I muttered under my breath.

I think the first problem our generation must attend to is apathy. For those of us who don’t consider ourselves apathetic, we must rectify the problem of inaction. It’s easy to “talk the talk,” as Vivian pointed out, so we now ought to consider mustering the courage to “walk the walk.” In so doing, some of us might become overwhelmed with the immensity of whatever problem we seek to address and, in effect, feel powerless. But should we let that stop us? If we do, perhaps we don’t actually care about the issue as much as we said we did, which brings us back to the first problem — apathy.

I’m trying to figure out just what “walking the walk” looks like, and will probably be investigating the matter until I die. But after that powerful speech, I have started to believe that the answer will come if I care enough about something to make it my business to change; if I care about it more than my life.

Julia Reeder is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.