We live in an era where it seems as if any information needed is accessible by the touch of a button. Why is it then that according to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, that people are about as up to date with current events and world news as they were 20 years ago, even with the extensive advances in technology? Educating yourself is not simply what classes you took in high school or your intended major in college. Those things are important yes, but if those are the only sources you use to gain knowledge of the world around you then there is so much more to learn.
To let one person tell you something and let that be the end all be all of your ideas on a subject is not the right way to approach education. Our minds are impressive especially when we are young and still learning. What people tell us might seem like the correct answer or way to view things, but until we gather information on our own, how can we truly know what we believe? A Gallup poll in 2005 suggests that 71% of our generation agree with their parents political beliefs. While that is not to say that what they think is wrong, it does raise the question of whether or not young people have those beliefs only due to parental influence or because of individual research and conclusions drawn on their own.
One day I was with a friend and we randomly flipped on the news. Reporters were covering a huge protest that had already been occurring for several days. I had absolutely no idea what was going on but my friend knew almost everything. He made a joke about how poorly I keep up with my current events by how oblivious I was to something that was a major crisis in the south states. This made me consider how much I really don't know about the world. Sure, I know the things I've learned from listening to people talk, but how much do I actually know about the world?
Being educated is a way of becoming aware of situations outside our own little bubbles. It gives us meaningful conversations to have and an overall maturity and increase in personal value that revolves around the acknowledgement of lives and cultures and ideas outside our own. By not accepting everything we hear without thinking for yourself first and by actively pursuing knowledge and information, we create a wealth of opportunities and gain so much in character. It is a privilege to know what is going on with our government and country while many other people around the world are prevented from that basic right by officials who blind them from the truth to keep them naïve and unthreatening. Knowledge is power and we need to take advantage of it in order to create the life we want and change the things we don't. If you don't like the president, vote. If you don't like the way LGTBQ people are treated, do something about it. If you don't like how women's rights are being handled by the government, protest. Stipulations don't change unless people take a stand. It all starts with taking time to learn what is going on in your world and then determining for yourself what you deem important.
A great way to become more involved is just by doing little things. Watch a TedTalk once a week or read an online New York Times newspaper article. Go to Yahoo.com and click on one of their little news posts to get the scoop on something you find interesting. You can even just watch the Today Show while you eat breakfast. There are so many avenues that make it easy to access current events, we just have to pursue them. But while you are doing so, keep in mind that the news anchors and papers and blogs will report something how they view it and how they want you to interpret it too. Just because someone reports an event in a certain way doesn't make it absolute. You still have to determine for yourself what it is you will accept as your truth.
"Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family." - Kofi Annan
Credits:
http://worldaffairscharlotte.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/currentevents/
http://www.gallup.com/poll/14515/teens-stay-true-parents-political-perspectives.aspx
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