Stephen Yeargin

I have never been one to ignore current events.

In middle school this interest went largely unrewarded, with the exception of a 4-H public speaking ribbon in fifth grade for a piece on the merits of the NAFTA plan. I remember feeling a bit of satisfaction when it was ratified later on that year. Naturally, I cannot remember if I ever really had a point in the presentation, but it must have sounded better than the “Don’t Be Mean to People” talk that my classmates gave. Fate dictated that I would marry a woman who could have easily given the anti-NAFTA speech and would have done it with twice as much conviction.

In college my fascination with “current events” became both my major and employment. Identifying and magnifying the conflict in the story was the only way to catch the attention of the campus. It usually landed the newspaper on the losing side of popular opinion, unless you assume that the silent majority agrees with your work. Still, the same great “Be Nice” philosophers of the fifth grade dominated the conversation. The ills of the world, in their mind, are never solved by talking about them.

Crime only matters when it happens in your neighborhood. The only school that matters is the one that your child attends. Rigged elections and declared martial law are irrelevant unless it is happening right here. War casualties are perceived to be low until it is someone close to us who makes the ultimate sacrifice. Protecting our inalienable rights is not important until someone tries to take our own away.

I am reminded as we observe Veterans’ Day this year that there is an implied responsibility for citizens to be, and remain, informed about the world around them. Our narrow world view does little to help avert conflict and find diplomatic solutions. A disinterested and lethargic population cannot hold its elected leaders accountable for their actions. At the same time, we must aid in effective government by supporting (or, as in some cases, opposing) the laws and resolutions that come before our state and federal legislative bodies. Even if we cannot form an opinion, at the very least we should be informed.

One such issue appropriately ran in today’s Tennessean about the poor conditions at the Tennessee Veterans home. I believe that there is no greater insult to those that fought for our country than for them to return home, broken by battle, to be neglected and forgotten. Suicide rates among returning servicemen and women are alarmingly high. The government is looking at the physical and mental scars of battle and somehow finding the nerve to declare that some of it was surely a “pre-existing condition” and therefore not the responsibility of the American taxpayer.

We desperately need an awakening of the mind. I hope for a time when more people will question how things are instead of settling for status quo. I believe it is time to replace “Don’t Be Mean to People” with “Demand Answers and Action.”