What’s more important: Global warming or your friend’s Facebook account?

By Jesse Hamilton
Senior Staff Writer
February 14, 2007

This is not a normal article; it’s more of a test. It’s a test to see where your, the readers, priorities lie on a national and global scale. All you have to do is answer 12 simple questions.

Easy, right?

Who is the Secretary of Defense? What is the Kyoto Protocol? Who is Ehren Watada? What is Hamas? How much is President Bush’s proposed budget? Who is I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby?

Who is the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles? What is the Facebook News Feed? Who is Kevin Federline? What team won the Super Bowl? How much is a case of Natty Light? Who is Paris Hilton?

Now, granted, Jeff Garcia is a great guy. After all, he did take over for Donovan McNabb and brought the Eagles to the playoffs. Whereas the worst thing Garcia could possibly do would be to lose a football game, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates could potentially lose a war, namely, the one in Iraq. Should Garcia’s be more of a household name than that of the man who runs our nation’s military?

Now, I know that the easiest way to stalk your friends is to check the Facebook News Feed, but is that knowledge more important than the international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas omissions (the Kyoto Protocol)? Given that the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change just concluded that not only are humans most likely to blame for global warming, but it could potentially be unstoppable. Are we, as students, frantically trying to see what we can do to prevent increased greenhouse gas emissions? Or, are we rushing to the computer to see who was tagged in a photo?

If you think that Kevin Federline is a stand-up role model for America’s youth, then you’re obviously from Mars. If you think he is worthless, then you’re an American. Why then, do we devote even an ounce of energy to following his daily actions? Wouldn’t it be more fruitful to learn about Ehren Watada, the U.S. Army officer who is currently being court marshaled for refusing to go to Iraq?

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that the Indianapolis Colts won a Super Bowl. After all, they deserved it, and sports critics will finally stop saying Peyton Manning will end his career without winning, like Dan Marino did. But alas, not even Manning can call an audible to stop the internal violence in Palestine.

Khaled Mashaal, the leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), on the other hand, can do so in his recent meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Mecca. In the big scheme of things, who deserves more attention?

I know that college students are historically broke, so it makes all the sense in the world to know the cost of a case of Natty Light when calculating one’s monthly budget. But what about the nation’s budget? Isn’t the $2.9 trillion to be spent by our nation in 2008 a little more interesting than $12 spent this weekend?

Paris Hilton is an anomaly in our society. She is famous for no apparent reason other than the fact that her family is astronomically rich, and she has a tendency to act outrageously in public. But do her outrageous acts trump those of Dick Cheney’s former Chief of Staff, Libby’s? As opposed to causing scenes at a New York City club, Libby caused a scene in Washington when he allegedly ousted a CIA agent after her husband publicly denounced the war in Iraq. Talk about some real drama.

Let’s face it: Britney Spears’ choice of undergarments (or lack thereof) is not going to solve the world’s problems, so let’s not worry about her anymore. Let’s focus on issues that matter, and not strictly issues on Facebook. The first six questions are not brainbusters. They were all fairly recent headline stories on CNN’s Web site. Just think, it takes less time to type www.cnn.com than it does www.facebook.com, so why don’t we do it a little more often?

hamiltonj3@lasalle.edu