Midterms, papers, jobs, and post-graduate plans are enough to create sleepless nights. What about when you start thinking about what needs to change in our nation and world?
Do you ever feel as if the enormity of tasks to accomplish can be overwhelming, almost paralyzing?
Many our age in Egypt and across the Middle East were able to escape this feeling of inertia. A recent Time article suggested that young people in Egypt had done more in a few days to improve democracy in their nation than their parents had in decades.
We have the democracy they dream of. We are a part of a nation where we have the right to speak, the right to peacefully practice religion and the right to disagree. But the maintenance of these freedoms is not a passive responsibility. It is one of the many duties of responsible citizenship. We have great problems and we need great leaders.
However, everyone must help: whether you are in teaching or banking or building or writing philosophy. America is in a critical position internally and in the world. We have to work together better than our parents’ generation at addressing problems.
Perhaps it would be best to start small. Let us start by talking to one another.
UNC has a rich history of welcoming speakers seeking to infuse this dialogue. In the last three years, we have hosted Elie Wiesel, Karl Rove, John Kerry and Greg Mortenson, among others.
Today, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is coming to speak. Imam Feisal is a religious figure, an author, visionary and activist seeking to improve relations of the Muslim world to the West. He was invited by the Institute for the Arts and Humanities Weil Lecture Committee on Citizenship, a lecture that aims to engage the UNC community in discussions of our identity as Americans and the greater scene of American citizenship.
So, let’s see what he has to say. Let’s have a real discussion about American citizenship. Let’s embrace our First Amendment rights and engage in scholarly inquiry while respecting the opinions of others. Conversations like these have happened at UNC throughout its history. It is time to rejuvenate the dialogue.
