Monday, March 9, 2009
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Be thankful for two things: These women fought for your right to vote, and you don't have to dress like this.
Blog Archive
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2009
(106)
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March
(32)
- Women in politics
- Kids and cops
- Hey Maeve,
- The President's budget
- The credit crisis explained
- The Supreme Court and schools
- My friend is working on this case
- Iraq vs. Afghanistan
- The new fireside chat?
- What's going to happen to the Guantanamo detainees?
- AIG
- Pictures from investigation of drug murders
- The military-industrial complex
- Particularly for Maeve
- Especially for Dania
- Kids and homelessness
- Do you know who Warren Buffet is?
- You are all depressing me.
- Blowing up the Senate
- It's finally here!
- Obama's interpretation of signing statements
- Prop 8 hearing
- New executive order
- It's looking good for Prop 8
- California courts deciding on Prop 8
- Obama's FEMA nominee
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Hillary Clinton's world tour
- Frances Perkins
- An increased bureaucracy?
- How the economic downturn happened
- Op-Ed about filibusters
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March
(32)
1 comment:
I was very offended by the article, “On Campus, Vampires Are Besting the Beats.” I found that this is generalizing my generation and our reading habits. Just because many college students (not all) are reading “trashy (Ms. McShane?) vampire books” more than books about political activism or “thought” does NOT mean that my generation will not be politically active. Come on! We are actually becoming more politically active than we have been in many years. Especially with the 2008 presidential election, my generation has a new excitement, a new energy, and most young adults feel a desire to be more politically active. I try not to generalize, but I think it is true that many, many young adults felt more excited about politics this past year. It is also true that there was a “Twilight” frenzy, but there is no correlation between that and our political inactivity.
Putting my irritation aside, the article made a good point…but it was still a bit extreme for me. It pointed out that in the past decades college students read more serious and political literature, thereby becoming more politically aware and interested. The literature mentioned (“The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” “The Golden Notebook,” etc.) did sound pretty interesting. I must agree that if students read these types of books today, we may be able to improve our society.
Here’s my big point: It all comes down to balance. Maybe out generation can’t be like the one forty years ago (too bad!), but we can at least try to hold on to qualities that helped young adults back then. We should have a balance…reading “Twilight” for some hours, and then engaging in some more intellectual reading, especially if it concerns politics. I must admit that I am very aware that “Twilight” is not the most challenging book to read. I was mad at, but also respected, the quote: “Here we have a generation of young adults away from home for the first time, free to enjoy the most experimental period of their lives, yet they're choosing books like 13-year-old girls -- or their parents.” It sounds really offensive, but it is kind of true. I think people my age and up should pick more challenging books to read; it is a very intellectually stimulating activity and a great stress reliever!
It seemed to me that the article was too hung up on the past. It refers to the 1970s, and goes as far back as the 1950s, multiple times! We have indeed “turned on the computer, tuned in the iPod“, but we have not all “dropped out of serious literature!!!” :(
We express our politics much differently than young adults did in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s and I totally agree with Mike Connery that stuff like “Twilight” is read “just for escape.” Some fanatics will take it to the extreme, but all in all we know it is a fantasy. I absolutely believe that young people today get their politics differently-- through YouTube, blogs, and social networks. We are changing, shifting, and we may be different than the past reading-loving college students, but we are smart in many ways and our political activity should not be determined solely on what we read. Now we can get our info through other sources, not to discredit reading!
- Aislinn Diaz
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