The Circle

Issue date: 12/7/06 Section: Opinion

How about the idea that America is a massive consumer while China is a massive producer? Over recent decades the consumption of foreign goods in the United States has been increasing, while Chinese countries that make all of these items are reaping the benefits. The growth of the Chinese middle class in recent years is astounding. Many people, specifically students, do not realize that China is on the verge of surpassing America as the number one "superpower" in the world. Sooner or later countries are going to be able to rely on themselves for American products and the source of government revenue will decrease substantially, leaving America a poor country. How many children's action figures can you confidently say have "made in America" inscribed on the bottom? The problem is that nobody knows about this in my generation. We need to take a look at what is really important. We are willing to take advantage of all the benefits that we have in this great country but, we are not willing to work for them. Too many of us want to be lawyers and CEO's because that is "where the money is," but too few of us want to become engineers and create new American technology.



The idea that students do not concern themselves can even be seen through the choice of movies that they watch. If you get a general consensus on the average student's favorite movies you will probably find films such as Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy, Dude, Where's My Car, and Wedding Crashers. Though funny, none of these movies have any underlying meaning to them and serve no purpose other than to entertain the masses, and draw a large sum of revenue. Students are not watching epic films such as American Beauty, and Crash while thinking about what they are saying about society. Even the comedic movies that appeal to my generation which contain a real purpose, such as Borat, are not looked at in the way they should be. After talking to my peers about the film, they would only focus on the comical parts of the movie while overlooking how the producers are telling us that America is generally an ignorant and racist society. The depictions of real people, making racist claims, and degrading women and foreigners, really drives home the point that most students miss because they are not focusing on what is really important.

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