As young U.S. citizens, we have fallen into a drunken stupor, saturated by the red, white, blue and green — money green. The colors of America serve as an opiate, dulling the pain of reality. We avoid the reality that problems persist in our society, in our world and right here at Iowa State.

No matter how many times we hear that factory workers are being laid off in record numbers, that 41 million Americans are uninsured — including 11 percent of children nationwide — or that thousands of American soldiers have died and will die defending the ideal of freedom, some people will not budge off their ever-expanding backsides to do anything about it.

As long as they have a job (or the hope for one with their degree) as long as they have health insurance, as long as they are not on the front lines, “it’s all good.” Frankly, that’s not their problem.

Then some other people have lost their jobs. They do not have health insurance. They are considering signing up for “the service” because their options are limited, and the officers know to recruit in their neighborhood. These people never stopped to consider their options, their power and ability to effect change in their world and change for their situation.

They must not know that in 1960, four African-American college students sat down at a “whites-only” lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., and within months, they had sparked a movement that mobilized college students across the country to “sit-in” and effectively end the common practice of racial segregation in public restaurants and facilities in the United States.

These people must not realize that college students like those at Kent State and Jackson State stood against the war in Vietnam in a way that woke the nation to the plight of U.S. soldiers and Vietnamese citizens in the area torn by some 20 years of war.

They must not know that this fall, a few students saw a problem with the direction Iowa State was taking, circulated a petition that received 533 signatures in two days and got the Strategic Plan 2005-2010 to reflect a university actively promoting and fostering diversity.

Surely, these efforts cannot be directly equated to those of students who were beaten, demoralized and killed for the sake of future generations. Yet it reflects the same ideal: people taking action to effect the change they hope to see in the world.

I often wonder if people do not want to see change. Perhaps they take comfort in their American dream of “making it big,” so they can buy their way out of discomfort.

As long as thousands of men, women and children are dying somewhere else as a result of U.S. economic and military decisions, we don’t mind terrorism. As long as we believe that Iowa is not a target, death is a necessary evil. As long as the Strategic Plan for Iowa State does not affect you because you are graduating or “not a part of the diverse population,” action on the issue is not necessary. Every man (or woman or child) for himself.

A recent poll shows that 85 percent of young people think it matters who wins the election in November. Somehow, only 36 percent of young people voted in 2000. The disparity between these two figures reeks of selfishness — or pure complacency. I suppose the pristine scenery in Ames helps us forget the problems that persist for others.

We also forgot the problems right here at Iowa State, such as the rising cost of tuition and rapidly disappearing student financial aid.

But who cares, right? You’ll be graduating soon, and it won’t be your problem, right? Just don’t forget that you’ll need heath insurance when you leave.