It's not that we're stupid...

During late August, students once again partook in a timeless annual tradition: comparing class schedules. Student registration had barely gotten underway when the Internet became abuzz with whispers of, “So you do you have for [insert subject here]? Oh, her/him? I heard he/she is fantastic/horrible. Yeah, you’re definitely going to learn nothing/a lot.”
By the time school started, each of us knew what to expect from our teachers, even though we’ve never set foot in any of their classrooms. After all, we heard all about them from friends who heard from other friends. How can we possibly be mistaken?
We have grown so accustomed to having information spoon-fed directly to us that we no longer try to seek out the truth independently. It's not that we're stupid; we just can't find the motivation to learn more by ourselves. Rather than challenging what we hear, we accept it without asking questions. Rather than formulating opinions based on concrete facts, we rely on vague prejudices and unsubstantiated rumors.
When it comes to students who blindly believe what they have been told about their teachers, there are probably negligible consequences. With regards to more profound situations, however, this attitude can be utterly disastrous. To use a clichéd example, in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, an entire society was able to be oppressed when people became apathetic in pursuing knowledge, content instead with listening to government propaganda. Of course, we still have a long way to go before we find ourselves living in a futuristic dystopian world. The signs, however, are present, and the stench of ignorance and apathy is getting harder to ignore.
Take what happened during the 2008 election as an example. One didn’t even need to venture beyond this very campus to witness the extraordinary levels of ignorance in the general population. Students used arbitrary criteria to judge candidates while clearly not having taken the time to do any real research. Many expressed hope that Barack Obama would win the election simply because he is “so cool.” These were usually the same people who thought Hilary Clinton was not fit for the job because she’s “kind of scary.” Then there were those who adamantly refused to support the Republican ticket because Sarah Palin “just pisses [them] off.”
Keep in mind that this was an election for who will hold the two most powerful political positions on this planet. If that doesn’t scare you, it should – a lot. As Harper Lee famously warned us in To Kill a Mockingbird, “A jury is only as good as the men who make it up.”
The same logic holds true for any community and its members. If we are to be trusted with our own fates, then it is imperative we inform ourselves so we can make decisions using sound knowledge and good judgment. In other words, we all need to become better jurors.

second try...

During late August, students once again partook in a timeless annual tradition: comparing class schedules. Student registration had barely gotten underway when the Internet became abuzz with whispers of, “So who do you have for [insert subject here]? Oh, her/him? I heard he/she is horrible/fantastic. Yeah you’re definitely going to learn nothing/a lot.”
By the time school started, each of us knew exactly what to expect from our teachers, even though we’ve never set foot in any of their classrooms. After all, we heard about them from friends who heard from other friends. How can we possibly be mistaken?
We have grown so accustomed to having information spoon-fed directly to us that we no longer try to seek out the truth independently. This problem is particularly acute amongst teenagers. It’s not that we’re stupid; we just cannot seem to find the motivation to pursue intellectual growth on our own anymore. Rather than trying to expand our knowledge, we wait for teachers or even worse, the media to do it for us. Rather than challenging what we hear, we accept it without asking any questions. Rather than formulating opinions based on concrete facts, we rely on vague prejudices and unsubstantiated rumors.
Of course, this wave of intellectual apathy amongst young adults didn’t just come about as an accident. It is the result of a teenage culture which tells us that our age is an excuse for laziness and that education is a burden rather than a blessing. It leads us to believe that we are wise and well-informed when in fact, the sum of our knowledge comes from less than 20 years of life experience. By not recognizing our own ignorance, we become content with how limited the scope of our thoughts and knowledge is. We make little effort to challenge ourselves, and we almost never consider the notion that our views may be wrong.
When it comes to students blindly believing what they have been told about their teachers, there are probably negligible consequences. When applied to more important matters, however, this attitude can be utterly disastrous.
Take what happened during the 2008 election as an example. Students on this very campus developed their own arbitrary criteria to judge candidates while clearly not having taken the time to do any real research. Many expressed hope that Barack Obama would win the election simply because he is “so cool.” These were usually the same people who thought Hilary Clinton was not fit for the job because she’s “kind of scary.” Then there were those who adamantly refused to support the Republican ticket because Sarah Palin “just pisses [them] off.”
Keep in mind that this was an election to determine who will hold the two most powerful political positions on this planet. If that doesn’t scare you, it should.
As Harper Lee famously warned us in To Kill a Mockingbird, “A jury is only as good as the men who make it up.” The same logic holds true for any community and its members. If we are to be trusted with our own fates, then it is imperative we inform ourselves so we can make decisions using sound knowledge and proper judgment. Neglecting to do so makes us vulnerable to making foolish and dangerous choices which, inevitably, puts society itself in peril. This is not another far-fetched slippery slope theory; we already are on the slippery slope. The signs of apathy are everywhere, and the stench of ignorance and complacence is getting harder to ignore.

During late August, students once again partook in a timeless annual tradition: comparing class schedules. Student registration had barely gotten underway when the Internet became abuzz with whispers of, “So who do you have for [insert subject here]? Oh, her/him? I heard he/she is horrible/fantastic. Yeah you’re definitely going to learn nothing/a lot.”
By the time school started, each of us knew exactly what to expect from our teachers, even though we’ve never set foot in any of their classrooms. After all, we heard about them from friends who heard from other friends. How can we possibly be mistaken?
We have grown so accustomed to having information spoon-fed directly to us that we no longer try to seek out the truth independently. This problem is particularly acute amongst teenagers. It’s not that we’re stupid; we just cannot seem to find the motivation to pursue intellectual growth on our own anymore. Rather than trying to expand our knowledge, we wait for teachers or even worse, the media to do it to do what for us? to expand our knowledge for us? only we can do that, so it needs to be clarified that our teachers and the media "supply" knowledge to us. or another word~ for us. Rather than challenging what we hear, we accept it without asking any questions. Rather than formulating opinions based on concrete facts, we rely on vague prejudices and unsubstantiated rumors.
Of course, this wave of intellectual apathy amongst young adults didn’t just come about as an change as an to by accident. It is the result of a teenage culture which tells us that our age is an excuse for laziness insert comma and that education is a burden rather than a blessing. It leads us to believe that we are wise and well-informed when in fact, the sum of our knowledge comes from less than 20 years of life experience. By not recognizing our own ignorance, we become content with how limited the scope of our thoughts and knowledge is. We make little effort to challenge ourselves, and we almost never consider the notion that our views may be wrong.
When it comes to students blindly believing what they have been told about their teachers, there are probably negligible consequences. When applied to more important matters, however, this attitude can be utterly disastrous.
Take what happened during the 2008 election as an example. Students on this very campus developed their own arbitrary criteria to judge candidates] while clearly not having taken the time to do any real research the last part is awkward/unclear-- rephrase. Many expressed hope that Barack Obama would win the election simply because he is “so cool.” These were usually the same people who thought Hilary Clinton was not fit for the job because she’s “kind of scary.” Then there were those who adamantly refused to support the Republican ticket because Sarah Palin “just pisses [them] off.”
Keep in mind that this was an election to determine who will hold the two most powerful political positions on this planet. If that doesn’t scare you, it should.
As Harper Lee famously warned us in To Kill a Mockingbird, “A jury is only as good as the men who make it up.” The same logic holds true for any community and its members. If we are to be trusted with our own fates, then it is imperative that we inform ourselves so we can make decisions usingchange using to of sound knowledge and proper judgment. Neglecting to do so makes us vulnerable to making makes and making are too similar-- reword one of themfoolish and dangerous choices which, inevitably, puts society itself in peril. This is not another far-fetched slippery slope theory; we already are on the slippery slope. The signs of apathy are everywhere, and the stench of ignorance and complacence is getting harder to ignore.

During late August, students once again partook in a timeless annual tradition: comparing class schedules. Student registration had barely gotten underway when the Internet became abuzz with whispers of, “So who do you have for [insert subject here]? Oh, her/him? I heard he/she is horrible/fantastic. Yeah you’re definitely going to learn nothing/a lot.”
By the time school started, each of us knew exactly what to expect from our teachers, even though we’ve never set foot in any of their classrooms. After all, we heard about them from friends who heard from other friends. How can we possibly be mistaken?
We have grown so accustomed to having information spoon-fed directly to us that we no longer try to seek out the truth independently. This problem is particularly acute amongst teenagers. It’s not that we’re stupid; we just cannot seem to find the motivation to pursue intellectual growth on our own anymore. Rather than trying to expand our knowledge, we wait for teachers or the media to feed knowledge into our heads. Rather than challenging what we hear, we accept it without asking any questions. Rather than formulating opinions based on concrete facts, we rely on vague prejudices and unsubstantiated rumors.
Of course, this wave of intellectual apathy amongst young adults didn’t just come about by accident. It is the result of a teenage culture which tells us that our age is an excuse for laziness, and that education is a burden rather than a blessing. It leads us to believe that we are wise and well-informed when in fact, the sum of our knowledge comes from less than 20 years of life experience. By not recognizing our own ignorance, we become content with how limited the scope of our thoughts and knowledge is. We make little effort to challenge ourselves, and we almost never consider the notion that our views may be wrong.
When it comes to students blindly believing what they have been told about their teachers, there are probably negligible consequences. When applied to more important matters, however, this attitude can be utterly disastrous.
Take what happened during the 2008 election as an example. Students on this very campus developed their own arbitrary criteria to judge candidates when they clearly haven't done any real research. Many expressed hope that Barack Obama would win the election simply because he is “so cool.” These were usually the same people who thought Hilary Clinton was not fit for the job because she’s “kind of scary.” Then there were those who adamantly refused to support the Republican ticket because Sarah Palin “just pisses [them] off.”
Keep in mind that this was an election to determine who will hold the two most powerful political positions on this planet. If that doesn’t scare you, it should.
As Harper Lee famously warned us in To Kill a Mockingbird, “A jury is only as good as the men who make it up.” The same logic holds true for any community and its members. If we are to be trusted with our own fates, then it is imperative that we inform ourselves so we can make decisions of sound knowledge and proper judgment. Neglecting to do so makes us prone to foolish and dangerous choices which, inevitably, puts society itself in peril. This is not another far-fetched slippery slope theory; we already are on the slippery slope. The signs of apathy are everywhere, and the stench of ignorance and complacence is getting harder to ignore.

During late August, students once again partook in a timeless annual tradition: comparing class schedules. Student registration had barely gotten underway when the Internet became abuzz with whispers of, “So who do you have for [insert subject here]? Oh, her/him? I heard he/she is horrible/fantastic. Yeah you’re definitely going to learn nothing/a lot.”
By the time school started, each of us knew exactly what to expect from our teachers, even though we’ve never set foot in any of their classrooms. After all, we heard about them from friends who heard from other friends. How can we possibly be mistaken?
We have grown so accustomed to having information spoon-fed directly to us that we no longer try to seek out the truth independently. This problem is particularly acute amongst teenagers. It’s not that we’re stupid; we just cannot seem to find the motivation to pursue intellectual growth on our own anymore. Rather than trying to expand our knowledge, we wait for teachers or the media to feed knowledge into our heads. Rather than challenging what we hear, we accept it without asking any questions. Rather than formulating opinions based on concrete facts, we rely on vague prejudices and unsubstantiated rumors.
Of course, this wave of intellectual apathy amongst young adults didn’t just come about by accident. It is the result of a teenage culture which tells us that our age is an excuse for laziness, and that education is a burden rather than a blessing. It leads us to believe that we are wise and well-informed when in fact, the sum of our knowledge comes from less than 20 years of life experience. By not recognizing our own ignorance, we become content with how limited the scope of our thoughts and knowledge is. We make little effort to challenge ourselves, and we almost never consider the notion that our views may be wrong.
When it comes to students blindly believing what they have been told about their teachers, there are probably negligible consequences. When applied to more important matters, however, this attitude can be utterly disastrous.
Take what happened during the 2008 election as an example. Students on this very campus developed their own arbitrary criteria to judge candidates when they clearly haven't change to hadn't done any real research. Many expressed hope that Barack Obama would win the election simply because he is “so cool.” These were usually the same people who thought Hilary Clinton was not fit for the job because she’s “kind of scary.” Then there were those who adamantly refused to support the Republican ticket because Sarah Palin “just pisses [them] off.”
Keep in mind that this was an election to determine who will hold the two most powerful political positions on this planet. If that doesn’t scare you, it should.
As Harper Lee famously warned us in To Kill a Mockingbird, “A jury is only as good as the men who make it up.” The same logic holds true for any community and its members. If we are to be trusted with our own fates, then it is imperative that we inform ourselves so we can make decisions of sound knowledge and proper judgment. Neglecting to do so makes us prone to foolish and dangerous choices which, inevitably, puts society itself in peril. This is not another far-fetched slippery slope theory; we already are on the slippery slope. The signs of apathy are everywhere, and the stench of ignorance and complacence is getting harder to ignore.

During late August, students once again partook in a timeless annual tradition: comparing class schedules. Student registration had barely gotten underway when the Internet became abuzz with whispers of, “So who do you have for [insert subject here]? Oh, her/him? I heard he/she is horrible/fantastic. Yeah you’re definitely going to learn nothing/a lot.”
By the time school started, each of us knew exactly what to expect from our teachers, even though we’ve never set foot in any of their classrooms. After all, we heard about them from friends who heard from other friends. How can we possibly be mistaken?
We have grown so accustomed to having information spoon-fed directly to us that we no longer try to seek out the truth independently. This problem is particularly acute amongst teenagers. It’s not that we’re stupid; we just cannot seem to find the motivation to pursue intellectual growth on our own anymore. Rather than trying to expand our knowledge, we wait for teachers or the media to feed knowledge into our heads. Rather than challenging what we hear, we accept it without asking any questions. Rather than formulating opinions based on concrete facts, we rely on vague prejudices and unsubstantiated rumors.
Of course, this wave of intellectual apathy amongst young adults didn’t just come about by accident. It is the result of a teenage culture which tells us that our age is an excuse for laziness, and that education is a burden rather than a blessing. It leads us to believe that we are wise and well-informed when in fact, the sum of our knowledge comes from less than 20 years of life experience. By not recognizing our own ignorance, we become content with how limited the scope of our thoughts and knowledge is. We make little effort to challenge ourselves, and we almost never consider the notion that our views may be wrong.
When it comes to students blindly believing what they have been told about their teachers, there are probably negligible consequences. When applied to more important matters, however, this attitude can be utterly disastrous.
Take what happened during the 2008 election as an example. Students on this very campus developed their own arbitrary criteria to judge candidates when they clearly hadn't done any real research. Many expressed hope that Barack Obama would win the election simply because he is “so cool.” These were usually the same people who thought Hilary Clinton was not fit for the job because she’s “kind of scary.” Then there were those who adamantly refused to support the Republican ticket because Sarah Palin “just pisses [them] off.”
Keep in mind that this was an election to determine who will hold the two most powerful political positions on this planet. If that doesn’t scare you, it should.
As Harper Lee famously warned us in To Kill a Mockingbird, “A jury is only as good as the men who make it up.” The same logic holds true for any community and its members. If we are to be trusted with our own fates, then it is imperative that we inform ourselves so we can make decisions of sound knowledge and proper judgment. Neglecting to do so makes us prone to foolish and dangerous choices which, inevitably, puts society itself in peril. This is not another far-fetched slippery slope theory; we already are on the slippery slope. The signs of apathy are everywhere, and the stench of ignorance and complacence is getting harder to ignore.