For some reason, I
was fascinated by the particular choice to spell the word politik
with the letter 'k' in All the King's Men.
While reading the book in high school, I remember reading it out loud to myself
with a strong 'k!' sound as if it made all the difference in the world between the meaningless politics of today's
election and the pressing issues of the Zeitgeist and its relation to the
necessity to focus on realpolitik -expanding upon policies of practical matters
rather than "moral" or ideological factors .
I watched the
Republican National Convention last week and just finished watching the first day of the
Democratic National Convention. I was impressed by so many articulate speakers
from both parties, but one speech in particular made me cry - Michelle Obama's.
When she began to speak of her father's journey and everyday endeavor to
provide for her and her brother, I couldn't help but make that comparison with
my own father and his constant wish to provide for my sister and me.
All my life, my dad
stressed the importance of education - not school, not academics, but
education. "Education", he always reminds me, "comes from many
different sources - from the people we meet, from the books we read, and the
realization of every day consequences educate us." He believed in the opportunity that education provided more than
the physical diploma itself. Even during the years I began to become interested
in elections and politics, he stressed not to just listen to the media but
become the voice others can listen to and learn from your own effort through
research and self-initiative to find information to form my own opinion. Being
educated is an incredible blessing. I'm always aware of it. Education allows us
to open our minds to accept situations foreign to us, but most importantly, it
allows us to step bravely into opportunities presented before us.
My parents worked
hard all their lives. We didn't have it easy. My dad's biggest fear was that
because our middle-class background my sister and I would stop ourselves from
even trying to go for dreams we thought were out of reach. When I told my dad I
wanted to go to Columbia University, he simply asked, "What's stopping
you?" He told me not to worry about money or anything else - if I have a
dream, go for it. So I sent my one and only college application and heard back
with good news. My dad took immediate action, found more employment
opportunities, and sacrificed so much to make sure he can pay that tuition bill
right on time and I would never miss a registration date. "You see for my
dad, that's what it meant to be a man." [Obama] My dad's belief that his
fatherly duty is to provide will never be satisfied. He will always feel like
he has to do more and this is why I know I am incredibly blessed and feel even
more compelled to push harder so that one day I, too, can take on a motherly
role and do the same.
After finishing my
Masters degree, I decided to take a break and read TIME magazine and follow the
current election. I realized shortly after beginning to read a Joe Klein
article, that I did not have an opinion on this year's election. I did not have
an opinion, because I was not educated enough to form an opinion. You see, in
order to have an opinion, you must know a small but decent amount on the
subject to be able to form an opinion of your own. Without knowing, you are
simply regurgitating. Perhaps that's why in so many countries educational development is discouraged since it keeps people from forming their own opinion. I read the same article three times before increasingly
becoming frustrated that for the past three years, I had only cared about
Architecture (my major). I was in school, engrossed in academia, and forgot to
educate myself. It reminded me of the story of my dad building a catapult. My father's generation experienced the trial
and error of Westernized elections in a country that newly adopted democracy.
Him and his friends printed pamphlets about the meaning of democracy and the
power of voting and using that self-constructed catapult, climbed hills of
nearby universities to launch the literature into campuses. He was trying to
provide insight that couldn't be found in textbooks printed by pre-democratic
officials in Korea. He hoped that through his efforts he could help create an environment for his children that was more tolerant and free. During the past three years, I had forgotten to take my nose out of academia and embrace
the knowledge in the fast-paced world around me.
Perhaps Obama did
make a political mistake by stating that our success wasn't achieved alone, but
I can't help but agree that my own success wasn't done solely through
self-propelled actions. I am able to do the things I can today because of my
parents who believed in the power of education, because of teachers that
inspired this tiny brain of mine, and because of the fact that by some
God-given luck I was able to be raised in this free, beautiful country. Without
my parents, without teachers who give their all to make every class an
inspirational one, and without the opportunity to live in this developed
democratic country, I can't say I would have ended up in the same place.
I am not telling
anyone to vote one way or another. I don't believe in "politics"; I
strongly encourage the belief in the hope that when people stand up for what
is thought to be right for the good of the whole,
lasting changes can affect a nation and these often come through the form of
policy changes and financial regulations.
I consider myself as a person who prefers to vote looking at several
issues, parties, and considering
long-term effects. But if you are a person that strongly feels for one
particular issue and are okay with just one issue being resolved then all the
power to-ya. I am simply encouraging everyone to recognize the immense gift of
free education and to use that knowledge to actively stand up for your belief.
