My latest column in my university’s newspaper is up today, here at The Eagle. However, I’d recommend reading it here, and avoid the nonsense juvenility that seem to be the trend among other columnists and commenters there nowadays. This week I urge Democrats to continue working on their reforms. They can get a lot more accomplished this year–and win in November–if they time their messages right and play of the context based on the time of year. Sometimes it’s the simple things. Check it out below.

Read more »

This is insanity.

- The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.”

- The Board refused to require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others.”

I honestly don’t know what to say about this debate except that it’s absolutely ludicrous and it’s making the United States look foolish. By literally rewriting history to fit some radical conservative ideals, the state of Texas is making the U.S. look as if, instead of governed by a Democratic supermajority, governed by a strange group of radical right-wing nutcases.

Removing Thomas Jefferson from history books? HOW CAN YOU DO THAT?

It’s hard for me to think of too many things that I’ve disagreed with more strongly than this article right here. Titled “The Case Against College Education” and published in Time magazine, Ramesh Ponnuru tries to argue that we’re pushing too many people to college who aren’t ready or fit for it. He says the value of college is “oversold.” But the kicker really comes when he tries to rationalize his argument:

To talk about college this way may sound élitist. It may even sound philistine, since the purpose of a liberal-arts education is to produce well-rounded citizens rather than productive workers. But perhaps it is more foolishly élitist to think that going to school until age 22 is necessary to being well-rounded, or to tell millions of kids that their future depends on performing a task that only a minority of them can actually accomplish.

Well, he’s right on that first point. It does sound élitist. It does sound philistine. But the sheer gumption of saying it’s élitist to encourage kids to get a college education? That’s absolute insanity.

The author seems to subscribe to the viewpoint that people are born with certain abilities. That some people are just destined for greatness, while others will be trapped in the lower-class culture of our society. He’s simply wrong.

I grew up in rural Kentucky. I come from an upper-middle class, pretty average family. I’ve been blessed–and a fair bit lucky–but one of the primary reasons I have been as successful as I’ve been is thanks to my education and my college experience so far, at American University.

And it’s not just me. I’ve seen friends from lower-class, lower-middle class, and even upper-class go from unsavory circumstances to college, and they’re achieving greatness as we speak. Will they be CEOs, Senators, Presidents or entrepreneurs? Not necessarily. But their advanced education is giving them the knowledge they need to keep pushing our country forward.

Read more »

Last Friday and Saturday, I attended Social Justice Camp DC (on Twitter). I’ve spent over a week thinking about what to write about my experience meeting, interacting and learning from these amazing people, and to be honest, I’m still kind of winging it, here. There’s just too much to say.

These people are the cause behind DC’s cause movement. There is no question in my mind that these people are some of the most important people in the District of Columbia.

These people see more pain than anyone else in DC.
These people endure more frustration than the most frustrated politicians on Capitol Hill.
These people work harder than the hardest office workers the United States has ever produced.

These people put in hours upon hours upon hours of back-breaking, mind-numbing, heart-wrenching work, all for a cause. They want to make D.C.–and the United States–a better place to live. They want to make it a better place to work, a better place to eat, and even a better place to get sick. It’s amazing.

I heard comments describing our group last weekend as “a bomb waiting to explode”, a group with “collective momentum” to change the world. One attendee, Greg Bloom, said “Web sites don’t make change, and neither do rallies”. And he’s right. These people working on these causes, right here in D.C., they’re the ones that make change. And I can see it coming. It’s beautiful.

Now after leaving the conference, I began to feel a little overwhelmed. I was thinking back to the people I heard speak, flipping through my notes, shuffling through the business cards I picked up, and I realized that there’s a lot of work to be done. There’s a lot of causes out there. There’s a lot that needs fixin’. And for me, I didn’t even know where to start.

Should I volunteer for DC Food for All and help make D.C. sustainable and feed those in need? Or should I volunteer with Miriam’s Kitchen to feed the homeless? Or maybe I should go out and volunteer with the MLK Library’s Adult Literacy Resource Center and help teach people to read. Or I could even work with the Open Forum Foundation in their push for more open government.

See what I mean? But now I’ve realized that, really, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you start somewhere. You’ve got to get out here and do something. You’ve got to pick something you’re passionate about and go for it, help out, put some weekend hours into it. It’s worth it, because this is our city. This is everyone‘s country. And we can help make it better.

Personally, I’m hoping to get involved some this semester, if I don’t collapse under the load of schoolwork. Even if not this semester, though, I’m already formulating a plan for the summer to volunteer with ten different causes on ten different weekends, ten weeks in a row. Rest assured, you’ll hear more about that as it comes close.

In the meantime, I’ve assembled a list of organizations and people I heard about and/or met last weekend. The links for organizations will take you to their Web site, where you can find out how to get involved. The links for people will take you to their Twitter profile, where you can contact them directly. And finally, if you have any questions or want to know more about my experience, you can comment and/or e-mail me at alex.priest[at]mac.com. Click the read more for the full list. Thanks for reading, looking forward to seeing you volunteering one day soon.

Read more »