s r e t t a M Page 4
MEDIA GRIDLOCK Understanding the trials of modern media Page 5
FAKE NEWS: THEN & NOW
Knowing the truth behind the lies Page 10
MILLENNIALS & THE FUTURE
How future generations will impact politics
North Texas Daily Advertorial Supplement
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Table of Contents NORTH TEXAS DAILY
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Adventures in journalism: risk in pursuing truth
4 7 9
Column: The Media Bears Blame for Gridlock
Fake News Nothing New
Even More Tips on Media Literacy
Fake News: A Clear and Present Menace
A Condensed History of Free Press
10
Millennials own the future, politics and beyond
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North Texas Daily Advertorial Feature
Adventures in journalism: risk in pursuing truth Karla Polanco | Contributing Writer
“Journalism is the first rough protectors, and then they’re draft of history” -Philip L. not going to sell you out to Graham, a former publisher bad actors.” and co-owner of The Washington Post According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, so He was abducted, arrestfar this year three journaled, beaten and chased in ists from Bangladesh, Iraq crowds, shot at multiple and Pakistan have been times, hit in the head killed. In countries where amidst a riot and narrowly there is little freedom of missed being hit by a rocket. the press, reporters in such Thorne Anderson’s job as a areas often face the threat photojournalist came with of violence, imprisonment, risks. He covered stories abduction, and in extreme internationally, including circumstances, execution. conflicts in Macedonia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq Anderson, now an associate and other sites of unrest in professor of photojournalthe Middle East. ism and multimedia at the University of North Tex“You have to be very careful as, recalled that while he about the people that your covered stories in conflict work with – your transzones a moment could turn lators, your drivers, your from being relatively safe connections in the cominto one of complete danger. munity,” Anderson said. “These are people that need James Mueller, interim to be carefully vetted and director and professor at chosen so that they are your the Mayborn School of
Journalism, said that jourthat didn’t like the way he nalism can be a stressful reported a story of a traffic occupation. Journalism is accident. one of those professions where journalist’s names In an occupation which and reputation are tied with bills its prospects a career their work and inevitably traditionally obsolete, poorcriticism may arise. ly paid and often dangerous, “In the United States, jourit takes guts and a true devnalists are pretty safe otee to do the job well. – physically,” Mueller said. “Occasionally, journalists “I think journalists don’t do are assaulted and even this job for the money or more rarely, you know, the fame because usually killed. Mentally, it can be there is neither,” Anderson pretty stressful depending said. “They do it because upon what you cover.” they believe in the power of the truth.” Before working at UNT, Mueller was a reporter for Daniel Carde, a journalism the Suburban Journals of senior at the University of Greater St. Louis. While Texas in Arlington, wants to covering stories locally, he cover conflict once he gradhad to be close to a scene uates. In 2016, he spent his to report a story about an spring break documenting explosive that had been the Iraqi-Kurdistan front in placed in a building. On the fight against the Islamic another occasion, he faced State. threats from members of a local motorcycle club “I think these stories need
to be told,” Carde said. “People need to know what’s going on. I mean, how can people make informed decisions if they’re not informed?” According to Anderson journalism is not a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job as “You are a journalist 24 hours a day.” “For me personally, [I’ve missed] family get-togethers because news events change outside of my control,” Anderson said. “And so, I’ve had to cancel vacations frequently and I’ve had long periods of separation from my family.” “When journalists do their job well they can help people understand the times they live in,” Mueller said. “They can make the world a better place.”
Column: The Media Bears Blame for Gridlock Heather Reed | Contributing Writer
The Pew Research Center reported that news organizations have been seeing the decline in readership over the past few decades and have tried to fight this by transitioning to an online platform. With the invention of Twitter and the explosion of social media, the rate of digital media consumption has gone through the roof and has left traditional print scrambling to keep up with the demand. This frenzy and loss of readership have forced news organizations who were once
unbiased to pick a side of non-objective news is leaving the aisle in hopes of catchmany citizens without quality ing more readers. Society as journalism that isn’t focused a whole has evolved into a on click-based revenue. group of people who continue to choose ignorance This makes it far more diffiover intelligence; people cult to defend the more condon’t want to be informed, troversial aspects of modern they for their preconceived journalism against unprecnotions to be confirmed. edented attacks by those in government, including by People have become so used the President of the United to quick headline consumpStates, Donald Trump. tion of media and demand such real-time updates that Diversity inside the newsthe quality of media can room is a problem too. often suffer as a result. This When reporters aren’t repdecrease in quality paired resenting both sides of the with the decrease mixed political agenda, the news with a rising consumption of they produce will undoubt-
edly come together to create a biased aggregate of media that further discourages readers. Lots of reporters, especially student journalists, are being bred in an era where the profession stands on uneasy ground, take pride in their bias. Rebelling against oppression is great and necessary for forwarding movements in the realm of social justice, but those opinions should be reserved for private citizens, not journalists who want to be keyboard vigilantes. A recent article by The Guardian was aimed at attacking and understanding
gender bias in modern media. Men outnumber women two to one in television news, which is important because people are visual creatures, and even though this does not overtly say that women are valued less than men, the undertones are there. Like the lack of diversity in newsrooms that exists between men and women a disconnect also exists between perception and reality when one considers the meaning behind the words liberal and conserGridlock continued on page 8
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Fake News Nothing New Preston Mitchell | Contributing Writer
The media has found itself in a strange and unsavory place as many Americans have begun to fervently voice their distrust of any and all news sources. While an entire pamphlet could be written on the consequences of closing oneself off from all information, President Trump’s claims of a “failing” New York Times and Washington Post speak for themselves.
of “Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick,” [sic] America’s first colonial newspaper. Not only was the paper an effort by publisher Benjamin Harris to print daily Boston news, it was also intended to propagate Christianity within Native American communities.
This phenomenon is not unique to the digital age. Quite frankly, fake news has existed in the United States longer than the industry of journalism itself. Let’s dive in: Sep. 25, 1690 saw the publishing
After this one issue, British law shut down production because Harris had not been issued a printing license before launching his enterprise. This was the beginning of colonial hunger for a free press, and among the first instances of overreach by the British crown that led to the creation of the First Amendment.
Then the presidential election of 1800 – when Thomas Jefferson beat John Adams – was practically a circus ground for fake news. In a lot of ways, it popularized the practice of hyper-partisanism reporting (now dubbed “commentary”), in which Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans competed against the mighty Federalists for national control.
ander Hamilton who sued the publisher of an article against him for seditious libel. However, once Jefferson became president, a majority of the acts were repealed and the Federalist Party quickly declined in stature and influence. Propaganda continued with the practice of “yellow journalism” in the 19th century, which can be defined as bombastic and sensational exaggeration in reporting, often to intentionally mislead.
Within the New York news Considering Congress couldn’t market, publishers Joseph Pulitzer interfere with the freedom of the and William Randolph Hearst press due to the First Amendment, battled over ownership of Richard partisan press ruled the era, in E. Outcault’s editorial cartoon, support of both camps. While “The Yellow Kid.” Hearst eventuAdams tried to legally subjugate ally hired Outcault, and his win this trend through 1798’s Alien is where many believe the “yellow and Sedition Acts, it was Alexjournalism” phrase comes from.
This trend sustained for a while, partially due to political unrest in 1890s Cuba when many Americans called for Spain to leave the island. In turn, Pulitzer and Hearst became some of the main publishers of fake, rousing stories about Cuban revolutionaries, which primarily had large bold headlines and drawings as their alternative facts. Many to this day tie their influence on the advent of the oft-forgot Spanish-American War. In the words of Aristotle, “If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development.” Preston Mitchell can be reached on Twitter at: @Presto_Mitch
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A Note From Our Editor by Harrison Long | Editor
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Gridlock continued from page 6
We live in a divided world. But beyond the daily headlines, the seemingly endless bad news, and the latest of our president’s many Twitter scandals, there is a process of disseminating news that the average person might not know about. The media has been in a transition for the past 20 years: from the rise of Internet news, to the fall, rise and fall of print revenue, and the advent of social media into the mix, a new frontier has been embarked on by those who don the title of “journalist� and the future of media in general is uncertain. While it can be almost assured that
the profession will survive despite whatever advances in technology might shake up the model, whatever those poised against the media might have to say in order to discredit, and whatever casualties those brave individuals who are willing to seek the truth might come across, the news will survive. This issue is meant to highlight the learning curve that the media is currently passing through, and tackles some of the toughest issues present into days news culture. We hope you enjoy it. -Harrison Long
individual cases, in no way do these political portraits account for the entirety of those who subscribe to the respective ideology. When journalists fail to report without bias and do not call out those who push such narratives on the public as wrong, the cycle is solidified further and the cycle of gridlock continues.
vative. To the former, a conservative is too-often an ignorant, backwards-thinking bottom feeder who subscribes to a long list of irrational phobias that ultimately keeps society rooted firmly in the past. To the latter, a liberal is a godless heathen who despises the country it lives in, and whom the traditional meth- This kind of stereotyping is ods of life which the United dangerous, as it leads to a States rose to greatness on lack of diversity, in multiple no longer apply. Neither of facets. When people accept these representations is acan entire political ideology curate, as even though they because that’s the way the might be rooted in truth for news they consume illus-
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trates people who affiliate with the other party, they stop learning, or the desire to do so. They continue to consume media that aligns with their way of thinking. Now, more than ever before, it is important to speak truth to power. But even more so, it is important to remember the commitment to truth that journalists across the world decided to represent when they took this job. We can no longer afford to disregard the need for diversity. Heather can be reached on Twitter: @Heathereed1111
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Even More Tips on Media Literacy
Sidney Johnson | Contributing Writer
You’ve finally found an article debunking grandpa’s spin on that thing you disagreed about during your shouting-match – what now? You could share your findings via Facebook to those friends who “like” everything you post anyway or do as journalists do by getting into a rigorous habit of verifying an article’s authenticity before spreading the head-cold of “fake news.” And not to be lumped in with a certain lot of fake news dissenters: I’m talking material published that is objectively false or broadcasted to intentionally mislead a certain group. The spread of fake news falls on a lack of media literacy: separating factual, objective information from the fake. A great example of fake news was the Pizzagate conspiracy of last year. The allegations of the story compelled Edgar Welch of North
Carolina to take up his rifle, then drive nearly 300-miles to investigate an international child sex ring operating out of the basement of a Washington pizza place, Comet Ping Pong. The scandal was allegedly unearthed after the leak of then Hillary Clinton campaign manager, John Podesta’s emails, also incriminating Clinton as a co-conspirator. This was (of course) false, but Mr. Welch and many others caught the bug of fake news and their behavior shouldn’t be taken lightly. In fact, it is essential to our Democracy that readers become more critical of what they consume. A title shouldn’t be the only part of a story you read before sharing it. Although journalists and editors bear the burden of getting every fact straight prior to publication, incomplete/fake articles are nonetheless
circulated with no end in sight. To help with this, here are seven best practices while frantically searching for articles at the dinner table to shush grandpa (probably not) during his sermon while grandma passes you the meatloaf shaking her head. And they’re not too bad, just make them habit before you share: 1. Check the Domain/URL: Sites that end in “.co” or “.info” should prick your ears to the site’s legitimacy. At best, it’s satirical and not actual news, which makes you look silly, too. 2. Quotes: Who are they sourcing? Are they credible? Did they interview your grandpa? If none of their sources are professionals or experts in what they are being asked, chances are it’s a dud.
3. Check other sites: Are any other credible news stations reporting on it? Although some stories are legit scoops, if it’s ‘that’ important, it’ll be somewhere else in the next 10-minutes, if not before. 4. Check the date: Often you’ll see the person sharing an article that has either been already resolved or dates back multiple years. It’s a simple check, right at the top. 5. Reverse Image Search: This is a simple trick: right-click on an image and check the image’s origin. 6. Comment Section: The comment section is the first thing you go to anyway, so just scroll through to see if anybody is providing links to credible sources also covering it, just watch out for the hyper-partisan sites
which are just as bad. 7. Snopes.com: This is what they do. If something sounds funny, they’ll let you know if it’s true or not. Treading carefully through this storm of ‘alternative facts’ is essential to reaching the shore of factual information. So what you share matters and you should understand it’s digital footprint, you may be leading others back out to sea if not. We’ve all been participants/victims in the spread of false information, but it’s time to be responsible with what we share and should be able to agree this behavior is becoming a strain on the fabric of our nation.
Sidney can be reached on Twitter: @SidJohn87
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North Texas Daily Advertorial Feature
Fake News: A Clear and Present Menace Preston Mitchell | Contributing Writer
Although “fake news” and “alternative facts” are ironic gags to some, the fact that each actually exists is alarming – and their acceptance was responsible for a lot of misinformation about the United States president candidates last year. Nothing else points out the dangers of fake news like the “Pizzagate” conspiracy which exploded in December of last year when 28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch strolled into a Comet Ping Pong restaurant in Washington. According to D.C. police, he was carrying an assault rifle, which pointed his assault rifle at a worker and shot wildly in a delusional attempt to “self-investigate” a purported theory of a sex-slave operation being run under the restaurant by then-presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton and her campaign. Enter WikiLeaks, which unveiled the emails of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta weeks before Election Day and revealed many uses of the word “pizza” among the content published online. While that normally wouldn’t be a recipe for disaster, a white supremacist tweeted on Oct. 30 that New York City police had discovered a pedophilia ring linked to the Democratic Party in the aforementioned restaurant. Immediately after, sites such as 4chan and Reddit added fuel to the fire, even saying that Podesta’s “pizza” was code for child pornography.
To combat any further spread of fake news, one must exercise media literacy at all times. Being media literate is knowing how to navigate the internet enough to cipher reliable news from propaganda, tabloids and spoof sites. While easy to bash controversial sites such as Breitbart, Buzzfeed and Gawker, legitimate-sounding sites can confuse true journalists.
This makes it more difficult to identify potentially fake news, rather than the well-known and the often scoffed National Enquirer.
Fortunately, on March 3, 2017, Facebook premiered a new tool that flags fake news. Through this feature, any fake news appearing on your feed can be visibly disputed by other sources. Hoax purveyors such as The NaAlthough it’s not a perfect innotional Report, World News Daily vation, it signals that our social Report and Empire News are media is paying attention now. only three of numerous false sites The only way alternative facts can hiding behind veneers of prestige. end is if we encourage the people They’re fair game for great rearound us to read more than one porters to source in briefs, much source regularly, including that like sites like abcnews.com.co which they might be predisposed and usatoday.com.co that either to disagree with, as well as look parody legitimate news sources for signs that a supposed news or worse, mix real journalism site might be peddling with unhinged sensationalism. false information.
TIPS TO SPOT FAKE NEWS Some tips to consider and ask yourself when reading news online. While none of them are guaranteed to help one weed out “fake news” on their timeline or feed, they are a good start:
If the URL ends in “dot co”, “dot net” or “dot me” an individual should be very careful before sharing. Look at the headline: if it seems sensationalist, it probably is an exaggeration and should be verified. Have you ever heard of this news site before? If not, it might be time to do some research on them. Always cross-check an article’s claim with trusted and time-tested news sites and organizations. If it seems a bit ridiculous, it probably is.
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North Texas Daily Advertorial Feature
A Condensed History of Free Press Shain Thomas | Contributing Writer
The Power of Words While all words are clearly definable in the context of usage, there is an ineffable quality to words which defy definition. Words without context are just that: words. With context, words have the power to inspire ideas in the individuals that read them. As British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said, “History is made by those that show up.” Like historians, journalists that show up to record the events of the day. People such as George II and George III of England found the free publication of journalistic articles a direct threat to their
stipulates “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Despite the freedom of the press being under attack from the Trump administration, there is a legitimate historical reason journalism is a constitutionally protected profession. Colonial Period Even as early as 1733, during the period in which the 13 American colonies were directly under the
“History is made by those that show up.” -Former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli self-perceived, God-given authority to rule. On the eve of the French Revolution, in 1789, the then United States Minister to France Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The people are the only censors of their governors, and even their errors will tend to keep these to the true principles of their institution. The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” The First Amendment to the United States Constitution clearly
yoke of a British-colonial rule, there was a modicum of evidence which clearly indicates the fledgling idea of the free press had begun to resonate among colonists. The people responsible for the writing and printing of The New York Weekly Journal, an early colonial publication, saw fit to print several articles which had somehow gotten under the skin of the then-British governor William Cosby. To the annoyance of the British governor, in a trial brought by Cosby, the writers of the journal were acquitted of any wrongdoing. As a going-concern, The New York Weekly Journal remained in publication until 1751. Inclusive of The New York Weekly Journal, there existed at
the time only two newspapers in the United States, the second of which, The New York Gazette, supported the British governor and his governance of the colonies.
Court Decisions
In an appeal brought before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Jan. 17, 2014, the court held the “First Amendment negligence standard for private defamation actions is not limited to cases with institutional media defendants and Cox as a blogger could not be held liable for defamation unless she acted negligently.”
Even though the First Amendment clearly protects the freedom of the press, there have been instances where either individual The panel of judges essentially exstates and or the Federal governtended the principle established ment have sought through legal by the Burger Court decision in means to oppress such activities Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 which were deemed questionable. U.S. 323, 350 (1974). that the During the Hughes Court, the First Amendment required only United States Supreme Court a “negligence standard for private ruled in Near v. Minnesota, 283 defamation actions.” U.S. 697 (1931) to recognize the Essentially, bloggers such as freedom of the press by rejecting Cox are afforded the same First previously established restraints Amendment protection from on publication, a principle which libel suits as traditional news was generally applied to free media. speech in successive American jurisprudence thereafter, most A Broader Picture notably in the Burger Court’s ruling on New York Times Co. v. According to the United Nations’ The United States, 403 U.S. 713 “Universal Declaration of Human (1971). Rights,” published in 1948,”Everyone has the right to freedom It was the 1971 ruling which of opinion and expression; this afforded The New York Times right includes freedom to hold and The Washington Post the opinions without interference, freedom to publish, without fear and impart information and of government censorship and or ideas through any media regardpunishment, the then classified less of frontiers.” “Pentagon Papers.” As a founding member of the In the 2011 United States District United Nations, the United States Court for the District of Oregon has an obligation to lead by case Obsidian Finance Group, example. The oppression of the LLC v. Cox, the plaintiffs Obsidpress, regardless of the format ian Finance Group sued Crystal the information is presented in is Cox for maintaining several of paramount importance to the blogs that accused Obsidian of well-being of a free society. corrupt and fraudulent conduct. Trump is by no means the first Although the court determined person in American history to many of the articles Cox had attempt to quash the voice of published were mere opinion, the free press. In 1798, the then they found that one article met governing Federalist Party stifled factual standards. Consequently, criticism of their governance by the court found in favor of the means of the Alien and Sedition plaintiffs for the sum of $2.5 Acts. Fortunately, when Jefferson million in damages. was elected president in 1800,
those convicted under the Acts were promptly pardoned. We live in troubling times, there is no doubt. From the birth of an unfinished nation, through Edward R. Murrow’s coverage of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Senate Committee on un-American Activities in the 1950s and the Nixon Administration in the 1970s, on forwards to the current Trump Administration, the reporting of unbiased news is critical more than ever. The freedom to communicate thoughts and ideas through a wide variety of mediums, such as newspapers, magazines, television news channels and radio stations allow people to develop an informed opinion on any given subject. The power of words is remarkable. It is words that shape history, not just actions.
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Millennials own the future, politics and beyond Harrison Long | Editor
Millennials don’t vote. In a time of illusory and controversial politics, our nation has found itself more divided than in quite some time. Many young people, from all economic backgrounds, races, religions, and creeds have found themselves in a state of disenfranchisement and persistent frustration as they attempt to navigate the fallout of an election which, in their eyes, was about choosing of the lesser of two evils. And in the eyes of most of these young people, the greater evil won. It is troubling that so many of the United States’ youth believe themselves to be insignificant
only because they have yet to tap into the power they hold in this country. Pushing for a cause creates momentum. Editor’s Note: Each of the following points was made not to influence or persuade, but to illustrate the point that when a cause is fought for by people who believe in it, much can be accomplished in the name of said cause. The continually shrinking space in-between each of these bullets proves the point even more so.
Drug use was on the rise across the United States, and racial tensions were building as riots reared across the country. Consider 25 years ago: There was rampant, violent crime in many major American cities, much of it due to gang activity. Stagnant job growth led to a rising disapproval rating of the Bush Sr. administration, and Desert Storm came and went as the US began its now-decadeslong involvement in the Middle East. Consider 10 years ago:
Graph courtesy of the Brookings Institute.
was not yet considered a viable candidate for the Republican nomination. See the emerging pattern here? When a population of people decides to organize and activate their ability to give a crap about anything other than the whatever bimbo celebrity just had their nude pictures leaked, stuff gets done- often rather quickly. The notion that millennials are not able to sway the outcome of elections is true only until they decide it isn’t. Decide what to stand for and things get easier A lot can change in a single year.
Graph courtesy of the Brookings Institute.
in choosing a path for their country, that such a large demographic of our population could feel so misplaced and forgotten by those who represent them. Millennials own the future, in politics and beyond
Consider 100 years ago: Women could not vote. Jim Crow laws were still very much in place. The United States found itself increasingly drawn to the conflict known as World War I as its costliest year, in terms of body count, steadily grew higher and higher.
While millennials do have a point in perceiving themselves as forgotten by their representatives, it must be broadcasted to each and every one of them it is
Consider 50 years ago: Vietnam was escalating quicker than previously anticipated. It was illegal for a woman to receive an abortion in all cases.
The return, post-9/11 conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were only just beginning, and lack of regulation in the housing market was leading up to the greatest financial disaster since The Great Depression. Consider the past two years: At varying points since the beginning of 2015, gay marriage was still illegal under federal law, the attacks in Paris, Brussels, and Orlando had not yet transpired, and Donald Trump
But nothing will if the ever-shrinking attention spans of young voters refuse to pick what to fight for and do their best to see it through. The notion that individual votes don’t matter have some credence to it, but often times can be refuted by precedent alone. In 1960, the general election was decided by about 100,000 votes across the country. In 2000, the returns of the general election hinged on a few counties in the state of Florida. The 2016 election was decided by a few ten-thousands of votes in the Rust Belt. Micro-organization makes the difference more often
than realized. Additionally, young people often don’t realize that the executive branch, despite its recent growth in power, is by design not the most powerful branch
“We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of all. ” of government: the legislative branch is. If one is capable of sticking with a cause beyond the length of a Snapchat story, support can grow, momentum can build, and a real fight through the fabric of democracy can be allowed to take place. Millennials do themselves a disservice when they refuse to pay attention to those who represent them where they live – be it in their state’s own legislative body, or their elected represen-
11 tative to the federal government, these individuals are the ones who have the most impact on the day-to-day lives of average citizens. They fly under the radar intentionally- so that they can continue without having to hear from the average citizen attempting to live their life independent of those higher up.
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always wrong This fallacy transcends any individual or a single group of people, and it has plagued the process of democracy as long as it has existed. In recent months, the will of this alienating power has grown stronger, and those who exist in our country find themselves, perhaps more than
“We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of all. We must admit in ourselves that our own children’s future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others. We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge. “Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course, we cannot vanish it with a program, nor with a resolution. Millennials trust different organizations based on their race, according to a study done by the Brookings Institute. Graph courtesy of the Brookings Institute.
The University of North Texas in Denton is home to over 37,000 students, most of them ages 18-22. Harrison Long
Enough is enough! As the soon-to-be largest voting bloc in the United States, the stagnant nature of millennial contributes greatly to the turtle-pace of our countries progress. Only when a voice is lent to those making decisions will the changes desired ever be seen. By refusing to show up, one has resigned to two things: 1) To be complacent in the halt of progress 2) To let another decide what is best for everyone
ever, divided by trivial things such as color, creed, sexual orientation or religion. Just as no one man or woman or group of men and women represents the whole of any of these things, no one individual
can create change on their own. It takes backing of passionate and idealist individuals who trust more in their capacity for change than they fear the potential of failure. We must be willing to hold a discourse over our concerns with one another without jumping to conclusions, or resorting to the sort of labeling that can dismiss objections of citizens as merely a
whine or flaw in their character. Now more than ever we must be willing to ask those tough questions, refuse to be complicit in laziness and fight for that which we believe in; the failure to do so could result in far more than a loss of one’s preferred party in power. As Robert F. Kennedy once said:
“Surely this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our hearts brothers and countrymen once again.” Harrison can be reached on Twitter: @HarrisonGLong
Should there be more than two political parties? Do lobbyists threaten the democratic process? Do we send more or less aid to foreign allies? Quite literally all of these problems can be tackled if those who’ve abstained from the process do their best in throwing a hat in the ring. If one refuses to vote, or participate in the activities of their country, they lose the right to criticize the outcome, however dire it might be. Those we disagree with are
“But we can perhaps remember - even if only for a time - that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short movement of life, that they seek - as we do - nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.
The University of North Texas in Denton is home to over 37,000 students, most of them ages 18-22. Harrison Long
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