Letters to the Editor (Editorial Policies)
Posted on January 29, 2007

Educate yourself: don’t dig diesel

On Tuesday evening I watched President Bush give the State of the Union address. But what was more unsettling than the speech was an interview with the chair of JMU’s College Republicans that appeared on ABC’s 11 p.m. news regarding alternative energy. She said, “I know that there’s some talk on more diesel reliant … um … methods. I personally have all diesel cars and um … I have had nothing but luck with them.”

This comment enraged me, for she did not even hint at an alternative or clean energy. I was already angry about the current sad state of our union, and this showed that the future of our union is bleak as well. That 30-second sound byte expressed a total lack of understanding of reality from a leader on our campus. We as students have failed our school, and its mission by not “[becoming] educated and enlightened citizens.”

I still have hope that we as a student body can achieve that mission. It is with that hope in mind that I write this letter and implore you to take your education into your own hands. I beg of you as students, and more importantly as the future leaders of our nation, to become “enlightened citizens.” Seriously contemplate the issues that face our generation as well as the ones that will face generations to come. Open your eyes to the world around you, ask questions about it, and learn!

Brian Armstrong, junior economics major