Opinion

On Getting Involved

By CHRISTINE CUNANAN-NOMURA

Many Japanese intellectuals believe that Japan is now at a crucial turning point. It can either strive to overcome its many problems and grow stronger in the process, or it can continue avoiding reforms and increasingly wreak havoc on itself. However, it is still unclear toward which path the country is headed, and much depends on the public will to effect change in government and society.

But many ordinary people remain apathetic about the national situation because they believe the country's problems do not necessarily affect them personally. Few realize that the unsolved ills of today will definitely be their headaches tomorrow.

"I don't really care about politics," said one university student. "My friends and sports are the most important things in my life." As a carefree student in the Philippines, I felt exactly the same way until a professor changed my attitude toward life.

"How many of you are interested in politics?" my professor asked our freshman class one day. My classmates and I were taken aback. We all led relatively comfortable, indulgent and apolitical lives.

"If you aren't interested in politics, then you might as well not be alive," he said. "It simply means you're not interested in life." We didn't know what he meant.

"I don't like politicians, which is why I don't like politics," one of my classmates replied. "But I'm interested in other issues such as environmental conservation and the prevention of cruelty to animals."

"But that's what politics is all about," my professor explained. "The word `politics' comes from the Greek term for 'state,' so politics can be seen as any concern of society ― which encompasses everything from the way government is run to how people take care of nature. To be political is to be interested in the world around you, which means to be alive."

My professor taught me two valuable lessons: First, that it's important to be concerned about things outside of yourself and to be a part of the world we live in ― otherwise, we are merely existing as physical entities rather than as human beings; and second, that you should never underestimate your own capacity to effect changes in society. You may be just an ordinary individual, but you can vote, write a letter, make a phone call, do a good deed or set an example for others. Many significant events in history began with one single person's actions.

From that day on, my classmates and I started to take on many unimaginable challenges.

In other words, we all became "political" in small and large ways. Today, each Japanese citizen has that same opportunity to work toward a better society and future. These sound like big words, but reforming a country can really only be done through the willing participation of both the government and the citizens. No government can be expected to do the job alone.

Shukan ST: Feb. 21, 1997

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