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| Benjamin Whitlock |
I was hesitant to get on that looming plane ride in O'Hare International Airport. Nearly 15 hours in the air did not appeal to me, let alone the totally foreign culture and place that awaited at the plane's destination. However, the proverbial first step led to more steps onto the flight, and here I am, on my first trip out of the country.
I will leave out the details about traffic (which is crazy), the food (which is different but delicious), and the government (still trying to gather how I feel about it) - I'll skip to the most fascinating part of Shanghai, China! The most interesting and totally wonderful part of Shanghai is the young people!
For 3 years at the University of Louisville, I have struggled to find more than a meager handful of people who think the way I do. I have desperately searched for quiet people who enjoy talking about what is important to them in a realistic way and who want to go into public service (or into business for a reason other than to make money). Gone, it seems, are the days when people seek to contribute to society in the United States in a productive way. University students in the US, despite our levels of education, are not content with life as we have it. Surely, we do not attempt to contribute to government institutions; to the military; to the day-to-day operations that supply our people with food and water, a safe environment, a quality education, etc. Instead of contributing to one aspect of the American way of life, Americans want to change and rewrite everything! We want the US to mind its own business - to pull our troops out of everyone's hair. Some want the government to respect the rights of its citizens (also to its illegal aliens) but to restrict religious organizations and socially conservative ideals. We want to point out what is beautiful in other places, and all that is horribly wrong and oppressive in our own backyard.
Nonprofits that exist for mere months (so easy to create, a high school kid can do it), focus groups that fight our government for everything and against everything, and the chaos that is the American campus culture is creating a generation of people who care too much about subjective mores - about individual perceptions of right and wrong - and too little about preserving our valuable institutions and making a positive contribution.
I'm not saying that China is better than the US, far from it. However, I am saying that, as an American, I have responsibilities. Freedom does not mean that I can do whatever I want. Rather, freedom allows me to make decisions for myself - and I believe that we have a responsibility to use our freedom to better the lives of others through public service. What is more important than keeping others safe, than providing clean food and water, clean streets, better management of resources, or educating the next generation of leaders? We live in a strong nation. I believe that there is nothing wrong with being strong - and I believe that, as a strong nation, we should fight to keep it that way instead of tearing it apart from the inside.
Chinese students want to do things right. It makes me very optimistic about China... But it makes me upset when I look in the mirror.
Benjamin Whitlock, of Campbellsville, Ky., is a junior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying history and political science.