The McCollumn - 2/25: Turn off the iPod; there's work to be done

What wonderfully superficial problems we here in the first world have.

I set out this week to write a column about the battles with my iPod, how picking the music on there and trying to have the focus to stay on one song until its completion requires more effort than you would think.

But, as I re-read my frantic writing, I thought, “I sound so stupid. This is worthy of a column? This is what you’re concerned about?”

For some of us, namely folks my age, sadly, yes.

We are so seldom able to remove ourselves from our own self-importance to take notice of the goings-on around us.

Revolutions have ousted dictators in Tunisia and Egypt.

Colonel Gaddafi is calling for all-out war against his citizens to try and cling to power in Libya.

China and Iran are moving quickly to stamp out dissidents spurred by the actions of revolutionaries in other countries, attempting to maintain their stranglehold on the status quo for their regimes.

On the home front, we face record budget deficits and an economic downturn that doesn’t seem to be moving upward any time soon.

Even here in Opelika, we aren’t immune to the bad economy, as just last week I heard some friends of the family were having to go through foreclosure proceedings on their house.

But, hey, it’s not my problem.

I’m too busy trying to figure out what songs to keep or cull on my iPod, wondering if I should upgrade to a unit with more storage capacity so I won’t have to make that decision any more.

As often as I attack the generation directly below mine for their self-centeredness and lack of awareness about the world around them, I realize I’m just as guilty as they are, if not more so.

They don’t seem to know any better. I should.

As someone who’s always prided myself on knowing things and having information, I’ve certainly done a great job lately of not caring at all.

I know just enough about major issues to get by, skating around with vague statements and platitudes until I can shift the conversation back to a field where I have stronger footing.

It’s shameful, but I know I’m not the only one who does it.

One of the great benefits of living in the “Digital Age” is that information is readily available to us whenever we need it in almost any place.

With the advent of wireless internet, we can use our phones to get news and weather updates, making sure we stay abreast of the goings-on in the world around us.

Instead, we more often use these devices to update our Facebook status or tweet some amusing anecdote or comment on Twitter.

We declare war on pigs in our Angry Birds game.

Or, we just turn on some music and let the world become a part of the background as we listen to our self-developed life soundtrack.

For a generation that was told we had such promise and greatness within us, we certainly haven’t done much with it.

We’re self-important. We’re lazy. We’re good with excuses, but horrible with results.

Is it informational overload that’s done us in? By having so much at our disposal, do we simply shut down and do nothing because we can’t process it all? Possibly.

But, I think that’s the easy way out and keeps us from accepting blame for our actions.

We must do a better job of keeping in touch with the world we live in, for our sake and for those who may come after us.

We must use these new social networking tools (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) for more than just remembering birthdays and posting what we had for lunch.

We have the ability to connect with people around the world, a way to try and affect some change for good.

We have to use that power. We must fulfill the promise those generations before us saw in us and rise to the challenges we’ve been given.

Social responsibility should be our watchword, trying to find a way to help our local communities and the global community in whatever ways we can.

If my generation could just get off their collective butts and do something, I know we are capable of great things.

We just need the motivation and reason to do it.

The world is hurting right now. Name an issue; there’s work to be done.

It’s time to step up and do something, folks.

What are you going to do?