It is frightening to me as a college student that there are so few American role models to look to for guidance at a point in my life where I am beginning to make my dreams reality. It troubles me to note that today, for so many of us, the notion of the American Dream is like art at Sotheby`s; we sell out our principles to the highest bidder because money, not integrity, is what counts.
It scares me to look around at today`s so-called heroes in America: the downfall of a black mayor who blames racism and government entrapment for pressuring him into smoking cocaine; a president who values ”prudence” and public opinion polls as greater strengths than ingenuity and decisiveness.
I am troubled by today`s stars and artists who believe that box office returns, hokey support of the day`s political fad and good public relations are what counts, rather than commitment to their craft.
Where are today`s visionaries? If visionaries are few, where will tomorrow`s be spawned, and how, when the young believe that money, sex and power are what really matters?
It is time for my generation to make our own statement, to contribute if we`re going to complain-to make our own destiny.
