|
Back to Table of Contents
Letter From The Editors
Zeitgeist: noun: The spirit of the time; the taste and outlook characteristic
of a period or generation.
I graduate in less than a month. That fact scares me. To risk venturing
off into sentimentality, I will say that the four years spent at Ithaca
have made me who I am, and I like that person. But enough Commencement
Day rhetoric.
British international relations scholar, Martin Wight argued that “one
of the main purposes of university education is to escape from the Zeitgeist,
from the mean, narrow, provincial spirit which is constantly assuring
us that we are at the peak of human achievement, that we stand on the
edge of unprecedented prosperity or an unparalleled catastrophe.”
But we live in a time when we are constantly told that September 11
“changed everything.” We live under increased surveillance
of security agencies, new military doctrines (from deterrence to pre-emption),
and challenges to international law. It is as though we fear that at
any moment all social order will crumble. My time in college has not
allowed me to escape these things. Rather, it's made me more aware of
them.
I am stepping into a scarred and cynical world. Yet, I am stepping out
optimistically. I have met many people here. At the risk of sounding
contrived and cliché, I have great hope for our generation. I
expect great things. The world is changing, the order of things is shifting,
and I don't want to just sit and watch. I want to effect.
Sorry, this is still sounding like a graduation speech. It's not supposed
to be. Instead, this should serve as a warning to the politicians, pundits
and anyone who has written off our generation. I don't know about anyone
else, but I don't think we're anywhere near the peak of human achievement.
But I sure as hell want to try to get there.
This is the final issue of Buzzsaw Haircut for Dan, Jen, Matt and I.
We’re leaving it in good hands and are sure it will be back stronget
than ever next year.
“And generations
Leave resonations
From demonstrations
To all the decimations”
-Joe Strummer
Owen Perry
April 21, 2003
|
