As I was driving
on a city street listening to eulogies of Martin
Luther King Jr. on my car radio the day
before Barack Obama's inauguration, it occurred
to me that the greatest challenge facing
President Obama transcends the most publicized
crises he inherits from the Bush Administration:
— two wars,
— an economy on the verge of total collapse,
— an education system struggling to teach
children to read and write and think clearly,
— and a dysfunctional health care system.
His greatest challenge is evident in the mindset
of people we meet on the street.
When
the traffic light turned yellow at a busy
intersection, I prepared to stop.
Moments later a car sped past me in the center
lane and ran through the red light. At one time,
running red lights was a rare occurrence. Now I
see it happen so often I've made it a habit to
look both ways before I enter an intersection
even though I have the green light.
I
was considering how and when and why that change
took place in our culture when I passed
a billboard advertising "The College of
Me." I know the sign referred to a school
adapting its programs to individual students, but
it conjured up the image of self-absorbed boors
endlessly whining, "Me. Mine. Me
first," and howling, "I want what I
want when I want it."
The
reckless driver and 'The College of Me"
image echoed the answer a 90 year old
man gave when he was asked at his birthday party
to cite the biggest change he had seen in his
lifetime. Technology was the expected answer
— cell phones, computers, GPS's and PDA's,
space travel and so on. Instead he said the
biggest change he has noticed is declining
civility: "People don't show respect for
each other anymore." The Me, Mine, Me First
mindset suggested by "The College of
Me" billboard could account for that
decline.
The
reckless driver and "The College of Me"
image were in sharp contrast with the
eulogies of Martin Luther King Jr. and words from
one of his last sermons: "I want you to be
first in love. I want you to be first in moral
excellence. I want you to be first in generosity.
If you want to be important, wonderful. If you
want to be great, wonderful. But recognize that
he who is greatest among you shall be your
servant."
That
ideal and the feelings of hope President Obama
articulates so eloquently and personifies so
beautifully suggest a more inclusive, more
relevant billboard is in order, one that
proclaims "The College of Us." —
From Work In Progress — Spring 2009
by John Gile
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