Opinion

Slowly regressing

Change won't happen overnight -- get over it

By Tracy Collins

Posted on Feb. 20, 2003, at 12:00 a.m.

My dear friend from Washington told me about a journal entry last night in which he wrote, “If humanity is doomed — locked in — do we stop trying to change things?” If we were forced to accept that the problems of the world are permanent, would we stop trying to change them? After my experiences at UMaine so far this year, our answer is yes. And if the University of Maine is a microcosm of the nation, we’re screwed.

At a discussion group last October, 12 fellow environmental policy students and I watched a video about the Kyoto Protocol, which prompted conversations regarding harmful emissions limitations, energy efficiency and, eventually, the fate of the environment if our country proceeds as we have been. During the series of discussions that ensued, so as not to forget, I wrote quotes on my hand from each of the students.

“Not in our generation,” “all hope is lost,” “we are the dumb ones,” “it doesn’t affect me, so I’m not going to think about it” and “I’m not worried about fixing it.” These were some of the phrases left on my hand when I walked home that night, scowling with sudden pessimism.

The dialogue that was echoing in my mind was one with a young woman who drove a large car. I said we needed to start driving smaller, more fuel-efficient cars whenever possible, because to me, it seemed like an obvious way to cut down on pollution. But this student declared what I realized must be the opinion of many Americans today.

She explained that where there are so many SUVs on the roads today, if she got hit while driving one of the small cars I was talking about, she’d be dead. And she would rather be alive now and face irreversible environmental problems in the future.

She agreed that someone needs to start a trend of driving smaller cars, but said, “it’s not going to be me.” She wasn’t going to change until everyone else did.

I was floored. It’s not going to be me? Well damn, baby, if we don’t start it, who will? And suddenly, I started to look at everyone with a cautious eye, wondering if they held the same nonsensical views as my friend in the GMC Suburban burning enough fuel for 30 people at once.

My fears of a nation of cowards who refuse to accept the responsibility, power and possibility in their hands have been confirmed since then. Whether it’s the idea of women in positions of power in politics or the possibility of honest news sources, pound for pound, we’re a nation of quitters. Our motto might as well be, “if it’s broke, it’s broke, let’s complain about it and then cook in our own rage.”

If the answer isn’t obvious, or if getting to where we want to be will take a significant effort on our part, our McDonald’s-eating, Joe Millionaire-watching, “I’m here for the money, not for the knowledge” selves stay planted on the proverbial couch. We say “oh well,” shrug and change the channel.

The shocking truth is coming out, my dears — our power is in our ideas, and our world views are pointing us to a future of retrogression. The moral of the story is: These days, if you want change, your biggest challenge is to convince the girl next to you who shares your views that if we work together, we can actually make things happen.

Tracy Collins is a sophomore journalism major.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 20th, 2003, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.