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Apathy and the Decline of Conviction in Teen Speech by Melina Powell

Where ever there are conflicts and turbulent issues, I will probably have a strong opinion about which opposing side is more correct. I am a person who absolutely loathes apathy, although ignorance may be worse; but at least the people who make uneducated arguments care enough to try, and that is more than people who genuinely don’t care about anything can say for themselves. I learned last year that the majority of high school students I am acquainted with would prefer not to discuss controversial subjects having to do with the topics I believe are so important to have an opinion about, ranging from politics to religion to the basic rights all people are entitled to. But it seems our society makes it more and more socially improper to voice what you think with conviction, which I feel is a critical problem within the general public.

It is a widely known law of teenagers that it is “weird” or “annoying” when a person tries to initiate a conversation about something that isn’t considered acceptable for casual conversation. I find myself agreeing with this notion all too often, which worries me that I am becoming increasingly apathetic. This is not only negative in terms of my persona, but it also hinders my ability to construct a viewpoint in academics, which is often required of students to write essays or participate in debates. But having thought through why I am beginning to lose interest in making my outlook known to others, I have found that this is because I have been discouraged from doing so by my fear that eyes will roll or people will make fun of the enthusiasm I emanate when expressing my beliefs. It is sometimes better to keep one’s thoughts to oneself when the insensitivity by others will shake the certainty and confidence felt before.

I feel that Taylor Mali’s poem “Totally like whatever, you know?” expresses my point exactly: “I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you, I challenge you: To speak with conviction. To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it. Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY. You have to speak with it, too.”media type="file" key="melinap-muckraker-0910.mp3" width="240" height="20" [|العاب تلبيس عرايس] [|يوتيوب] [|قبة] [|قراقوش] [|افلام مغربية] [|افلام مغربية 2013] [|filme marocain]