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The importance of being informed

 

I don’t believe it’s too much of a stretch to say free speech is the most valued of our American ideals. Hand in hand with that is freedom of the press – an issue brought to the forefront of the global stage with the recent imprisonment of five Al Jazeera journalists by the Egyptian government.

These journalists have been imprisoned and held without charge in Cairo, accused of publishing false news and liaising with the Muslim Brotherhood – an organization the Egyptian government has condemned as terrorists. Though the administration in Cairo claims to have transferred their case to the criminal courts, Al Jazeera has yet to receive any official charges. I say this not just to bring the plight of these journalists to small-town Oklahoma, but also to point out the necessity of staying informed on global news.

Whether or not you knew about the situation in Egypt is merely a symptom of the larger disease journalists of any kind, citizen or otherwise, experience. The entertained masses of America enjoy watching the Olympics – but how many of us look beyond Russian President Vladimir Putin’s glaring homophobia to the societal poverty crushing the neighborhoods within spitting distance of the Olympic grounds? All the waste from Olympic construction has to go somewhere – as it so happens, dumping it next to the struggling neighborhoods in Sochi is convenient.

In the Ukraine, fires painting the night sky red and orange against billowing smoke reflect the people’s suffering during their revolution. At this point, Russian media speculates civil war – or even the possibility of a literally divided Ukraine – is inevitable. The cause? Many point to Moscow’s threat of “economic war” should Ukraine and other countries have signed an Association Agreement with the European Union.

Basic human rights we’ve embraced in America that go hand in hand with democratic ideals are being abused and violated across the globe, and all we do is sit and wonder how this is all happening.

I believe I have an answer, however small it may be.

Over the years America has developed somewhat of a bad habit, much like American religious mission efforts. We go in and build something – whether it’s a government or a school or a sea of housing – and then we leave. We quantify “help” by amounts of donated money and the number of structures we’ve built. To a degree, we’re right. Physical efforts and structures might not have been built without our intervention. But what about after we leave?

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that we are doing more than just building things in these countries – America tries to help through political dealings and pressure, official condemnations and a myriad of other actions within the global political arena. But what about us? What about the everyday American? When we choose to stay uniformed about the craziness in the world at large, we are crippling ourselves at our deepest level.

As individuals, we aren’t near as restrained by red tape as our government. If we want to help after our government leaves, we can do it. If you’re religious, you can pray or sponsor a child. If you can write, spread the word – or even go to physically help those in need yourself. Whatever it is you want to individually do about these issues, do it – just don’t be apathetic. It may not be “our problem” now, sure. If we remain uninformed, however, we will be blindsided when it does.

 

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