Every day we’re bombarded with thousands of advertisements, images, information, propaganda, political literature, petitions or some other variant of the aforementioned. And when you break it down, they all aim to do one thing: convince you that your signature, your involvement, your awareness, your “click to learn more,” or your inclusion on an email newsletter list and not more than five minutes of your time will either inspire or block some form of social change.
We’re pawns in the game.
This is everywhere we go. But for Sun Devils — at least those on the Tempe campus — this really hits home in one central location: The Memorial Union. Sometimes traversing the table-lined and tent-covered cement in front of the MU en route to class means getting caught in the crossfire of any number of petitioners, religious zealots, signature chasers, or caffeine pushers for some new energy drink company waiting to pump your collegiate body with guarana, or whatever it is in Red Bull that “gives you wings.” Its like walking into an Internet chat-room with your pop-up blocker turned off.
This is both good and bad. Information, awareness, knowledge — these are all necessary agents in the formation of our personal and social belief systems, our moral code. Yet, somehow the petitioner’s message gets lost somewhere between an unoriginal or annoying means of getting our attention and our unwillingness to listen to what they have to say. Sometimes, the shock value overshadows the message entirely, and we’re so turned off, we just turn around and walk the other way or offer an excuse.
“Do you have a minute for the environment?” says the petitioner who smokes a cigarette and deposits the butt where he stands.
“Should abortion be legal?” reads emboldened text over graphic images of embryos and fetuses on 10-foot high posterboard.
“Are you an ASJew?” asks one student organization.
Our aversion to situations like this is ironic when our reaction to the blocking of access to change.org, a petition-hosting site, was so intense. We clung to the First Amendment and pointed our fingers at the administration with accusations of censorship. So, we want to lend our signature, voice our opinion and join the fight if it means paying less for tuition or is relevant to our immediate needs. Until then, it would seem, children in third world countries can go hungry, American children can continue on their path to obesity and the environment can come crashing down around us as long as we stick to our story, “Sorry, I’m late for class!” and continue on with our day, unbothered.
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