2008 Woodie Awards
Letters from the Editor
SHANNON MORGAN
EDITOR-IN-CHEIF
Issue date: 10/13/08 Section: Opinion
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I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling quite anxious lately. When I turn on the television, listen to the radio or read the newspaper I’m offered many reasons to worry about my country, my family and my friends who are about to graduate. I think the majority of this anxiety is actually frustration over my feeling of powerlessness to do anything about the turmoil we’re experiencing as a nation.
I worry most about my father who worked 60-70 hours a week as a heavy machinery mechanic before the economy slowed down. As I watch the financial system tank and stock markets plummet, I worry Dad will never see retirement. I’m concerned he’ll have to suffer through pain in his back and knees, under some hood or engine surrounded by diesel fumes for the rest of his life.
I called him recently when my worry got the best of me. Our conversations started with the weather. I told him the temperature here is falling faster than the Dow, then rambled on about my anxiety over the worst week in Wall Street’s history. Despite my best attempts to appear brave to my father, I could not hide my distress over our world in crisis and was eager to hear his advice.
In his thick, soothing southern accent he said, “We’ve taken a hit but we’ll be fine, baby. These damn fools on the TV … always trying to scare everybody … hollerin’ that the sky is falling when what they need to do is tell folks not to panic. Have faith that the market and our economy will rebound because they always have.”
He went on to say, “There’s no question America took a wrong turn somewhere and as a result we’re in a whole world of hurt right now. There’s a lot of work to be done to get this country back on track and it’s gonna take a few years to set things right. It’s up to you and your college buddies to scheme up better ways of solving our problems so you can save the rest of our asses.”
I’m the first member of my family to go to college. My parents beam with pride over my education and tell me constantly that our generation will figure out how to make this world a better place.
My dad tells me every time we speak how lucky I am to be going to school. He taught me the best way we can serve our families, and our country, is by putting our education to good use. I’m not sure what I want to do with my life quite yet; maybe I’ll be a journalist, a professor, a lawyer or a community activist. Part of the reason I’m in college is to figure that out.
In any case, I think my dad is right. Whatever your chosen career path may be, we should head his advice. The need for new, fresh and innovative ideas is urgent in most any field to pull us out of this mess. The world requires idealists right now; it needs we at Boise State and students all over the world to step up to the plate (in which ever profession we choose) with new solutions to old problems, and new ideas about how to run things.
So what do ya say we roll up our sleeves, acknowledge our responsibility, and get to work?
All my best,
Shannon Morgan
Editor-in-Chief
The Arbiter
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