Over the course of the next year, this weekly column will focus on the events that will shape this campus, our state and the world. I hope that you will learn from this space, and enjoy reading it. But as we begin this year, it might be worth the effort to take a moment to reflect on what has gone before, and to the contexts that lie behind the challenges that we all face.
In the past four years, we have witnessed remarkable changes in the world we live in. We have seen the impeachment of a president, increases in the levels of governmental corruption and ineffectiveness, backlash against globalization and trade treaties, the rise and fall of the information industry, a string of accounting frauds which have hurt thousands of employees and millions of stockholders and a fresh war that has delivered death and despair to all sides'and promises to serve up more of the same, in short order. And those are just a few of the major stories that made the headlines.
The circumstances behind these events depend, of course, on the events themselves. For example, you can look at the globalization protests and see a link to the growing gap between rich and poor, or to the trade-off between the free market and the requirements of a diverse society. Another example, you can examine the Clinton impeachment, the current administration's secrecy and the recent corporate frauds and see an overall degradation of trust and honor within our highest institutions.
But there is one context in particular that I think is absolutely crucial at this moment in our lives, and in the history of our state and nation. Despite the expansion of our ability to disseminate knowledge and information, we seem to be, for the most part, uninterested in doing the basic things that are necessary to becoming as involved in our democracy as we ought to be.
To be sure, the sorry state of political affairs is not entirely our fault. Most of our self-interested elected officials do their best to ensure that the public is as far removed from the democratic process as possible. The best example of this behavior comes from the Capitol. In the last two years, we have seen the corruption and fraud of our highest officials laid bare before a revolted state. At the same time, secret deals, special-interest tax breaks and an inability to make tough budgetary decisions have turned our state finances into a travesty'the end result of which may be, incidentally, an increase in UW System tuition.
But here is the punchline: a significant proportion of those currently sitting in office at the Capitol will, more than likely, be invited back for another term of office. And the acting governor who saw all of this atrocious action occur on his watch still has a decent chance of gaining a full four-year mandate.
Why is this happening? Well, among other things, our politicians are more concerned with style and sound bites than actual substance, and the campaign finance system is out of proportion to reality and decency.
But this is the key: we are the root cause of the problem because, at base, we have not demanded better of our elected officials. The sad fact is that our leaders will continue to get away with frauds and deceptions until we, as individuals and as a society, say \enough.""
Future editions will go into detail on all of the subjects raised here, and others besides. However, for the moment, allow me to impose an obligation upon you.
You have a brain that our admissions offices found promising enough to grant you an entrance ticket. It is time that you began to use it in earnest. Search newspapers and the Internet for information on issues that matter to you. Do not stop at the headlines and summaries, but dig deeper. Ask hard questions of yourself, and of others. Register to vote, and cast a ballot next month.
In short, you simply have to give a damn about what is happening in your world. And you have to take constructive action because, ready or not, you are now a full member of our democratic society. And there is much work to do.
