CORRECTION:

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Old problems need new solutions

Everything's terrible and no one's doing anything about it.

Here we are, college students, still too young to be corrupt and still old enough to drink. This place should be a furnace of new ideas. Hell, I'd be happy if we were all just working on one idea.

The old ways aren't working. Our parents and grandparents have given us a world and a country that perpetually has the illusion that things are getting better while things perpetually fall short of that mark. One in five children is born into poverty. Women still make less than what men make working the same job. Inborn prejudices of class, race, gender and sexual preference are still passed to the next generation. There are six billion people all needing food water and shelter. Many are creating new lives when we still can't come up with ways to feed, clothe, or even love the ones that are already here.

I'm the opinions editor, yes, but I'm a scared human being first, and that scared human being wants to be lulled back to sleep.

So give me some new ideas. Help me out here. Hell, even an old idea with a touch up or an improvement. The world is filled with problems, what are your solutions? Write or email The Exponent at opinions@purdueexponent.org and flag them as "A Solution" so we know it's not just any letter to the editor.

Throughout this semester this page will have columns dealing with some of these big nasty problems that no one in power has figured out how to solve yet. I don't care if your idea is radical, implausible, deadly or dumb. We've got to start somewhere, since most people are convinced its over and finished. Give us your manifesto for the perfect world.

Our government is supposed to be about representation of the majority. Like it or not, the majority of people are still apathetic Baby Boomers, which means our voice is still very quiet. But soon, too soon, they'll all be gone and we'll be left in charge. So we'd better have something to say.

About a decade ago, people were singing about us as the future of the world and all that crap. Notice they were singing and they didn't actually fix anything. So let's try it.

Here's a sampling of what's wrong with everybody lately:

The Environment

High gas prices are a big warning sign that we're running out of petroleum and quick. Sure, the schmuck in the White House loves his oil companies like his daughters love their gin and tonics, but that doesn't mean we can throw up our hands and walk away. The continued treatment of our planet like a red-headed stepchild has already started affecting the way we live our lives today. The present condition of the planet is something we have to start doing something about. What can we do?

Overpopulation

There are more than six billion people on this planet and more and more keep coming every day. Anyone who's ever lived in a residence hall can tell you that we're running out of space. So what can be done?

AIDS

Science can't seem to pin the damn thing down. There is no cure now and skeptics are saying there never will be. Just trusting people to not have unprotected sex or share needles isn't working as millions catch this modern plague everyday. What should we do?

Poverty

We're supposed to be a fully developed nation and yet we can't help all our people make a life for themselves so what hope do undeveloped countries have? How do we fix it? More government? Less government? No government?

Crime

Prisons are overcrowded. Crime still runs rampant. There's no Batman, and no Superman to save us. So what can we do? Do we need more prisons? More police? More prevention? More executions? No executions?

And the list goes on and on and on from health care to illiteracy to even issues that are going on right in the middle of this campus. The columnists for this desk can't come up with all the ideas. Take a shot, and we'll collect them and discuss them in the future.

Discussions and arguments are where new ideas are forged and beliefs are changed but we have to raise the quality of debate beyond simple semantics and petty bickering.

Tom McHenry is a junior in the School of Liberal Arts. He can be reached at opinions@purdueexponent.org.

Nation’s diversity deserves respect

Old problems need new solutions

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OPINIONS DESK PHONE:
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Opinions editor:
Tom McHenry

To send a letter to the editor, please email opinions@purdueexponent.org

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