By Pete Bandel

There is a dying breed of people in the world these days. They are not dying of a particular disease, nor are they dying of starvation or due to a gross war riddling their homes and towns. They are dying due to apathy and complacency, and they are dying because they are running themselves off in a cannibalistic frenzy of isolation and promoted angst-drawn indifference. These people dying off are true red, white and blue Americans.

Why are the true lovers of this great nation all disappearing? One highly-viable reason is the lack of education about the true American culture. In an era where television and movies sensationalize everything to a level books and education have never previously seen, the young are vacuumed, sucked directly into over-arching and brash opinions, i.e. stereotypes. The irony of America these days is the need to resolve stereotypes of people, ethnic cultures, religions and creeds, yet we only foster more stereotypes and misunderstandings because we do not teach ourselves and those around us to explore things from the most macro level down to the tiniest micro level so as to come by a full spectrum of understanding.

I believe in an America that has long since become a fable, a story of lore of past generations, of people that existed long ago in times before reality TV, in times when people actually cared about their country. And I mean actually cared, not this soured affront that everyone shows through differences in political ideologies. America is not Republicans and it is not Democrats, America is Americans. America is made up of hardworking, genuine, honest, caring individuals that, if you ask them to, will lay down their lives for you because we are all each other’s neighbors and each other’s families. And in so being each other’s families, we have to realize that everyone argues and everyone fights, but we have to keep it in the family and understand that we all must nurture each other better.

I might be crazy, but I bought into the idea that a bunch of imperfect men fought for their lives and for their beliefs in an attempt to form “a more perfect” place to live whereby they too could become better and more perfect. I bought into the idea that change has been a constant in this country and through civil wars and assassination, this nation has still pushed forward and has opened the doors for more people to excel and succeed. And I might be completely insane because I believe in American values and morals; things like being good to your neighbor, not stealing, not killing, not cheating, being honest, being trustworthy, working hard, having a sense of purpose and a dream to endeavor and to be better tomorrow than you are today.

The America of today is better known as, “What have you done for me lately?” Are we so far removed from President Kennedy stating that it isn’t just what the country does for you, it’s what you do for it? Have we forgotten Thomas Jefferson spouted the wise words, “In matters of style, swim with the current, in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” Nobody is standing anymore and everyone is looking for handouts. We expect everything to be done without our help and that it is always some other person, some other family’s child, some other community that has the problem. It can never be you or me.

Well, quite frankly, it is us; 100 percent us. We are “one nation under God,” and that means something. It means we all have duties to do.

And if you think that none of this matters to you, you are just living your life your way, and who really cares? Well, when the true Americans are extinct and all that is left is the apathetic, uncaring, non-believing kind, this land will be swallowed up in a great and swift extinction.

For anyone that is angered by this, you can write a response and you can attack me, and that is fine. I am a true-blue American, I am strong to my bones and I can take a simple attack. But, if you really want to show me up to show people in this country are not completely apathetic. Try knocking on your neighbor’s door and introducing yourself. Try saying “thank you” to the janitorial staff at our school. Try simply picking up a piece of trash from the ground and making sure you throw yours away too, try taking a First Aid and CPR class and try exhausting yourself in a pursuit of education and an honest attempt at making tomorrow better than today for yourself and those around you. That will really show me a thing or two, and it’s a heck of a lot more rewarding than sitting back and watching extinction.

— Pete Bandel is a senior political science major.