Nader issues challenge of activism
By: Matt Jennings, Robin Lamkin
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: News
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Ubben Lecture Series speaker Ralph Nader noted that, in only about 15,000 days, all of the students seated in Kresge Auditorium listening to his speech would be 65 years old. With this, he later asked, "What kind of mark do you want to leave on the world?"
Though the title of his speech, "Don't Waste Your 20s: Your Most Creative Decade," indicated a focus on the potential of youth in general, Nader, a nationally recognized consumer advocate, lawyer, activist and three-time presidential candidate, spoke mainly of civic responsibility, social justice and the need for global change. Nader said many students can help achieve this change in their lifetime if they approach it with the proper mindset from an early age. Nader stressed that students shouldn't underestimate their capacity for making an impact on this world.
"Have you thought about your horizons?" Nader said. "Is it beyond having a material standard of living that you think is comfortable? Does your reach expand to reach the outer limits of your ethical potential? If you don't have these kinds of thoughts from time to time, or are not involved in some sort of struggle for justice ... you are missing some form of normative component to your education."
Nader said the education system does not place enough value on teaching students civil justice. Students do not learn to feel comfortable expressing their opinions on social and civil justice when they feel their opinions are too controversial because they have only been taught to memorize and regurgitate material.
"The worst kind of censorship is self-censorship," Nader said. "If you do not hone your own sense of injustice you will not develop a sense of justice. That tends to dim the capacity for critical thinking no matter how many books you read."
Nader spoke of the 20s as being a critical decade for forming one's sense of social justice and political activism.
"What you do in life will largely be decided by the vector you set in your 20s," Nader said. "Later you will have more wisdom, but it starts in your 20s."
Though the title of his speech, "Don't Waste Your 20s: Your Most Creative Decade," indicated a focus on the potential of youth in general, Nader, a nationally recognized consumer advocate, lawyer, activist and three-time presidential candidate, spoke mainly of civic responsibility, social justice and the need for global change. Nader said many students can help achieve this change in their lifetime if they approach it with the proper mindset from an early age. Nader stressed that students shouldn't underestimate their capacity for making an impact on this world.
"Have you thought about your horizons?" Nader said. "Is it beyond having a material standard of living that you think is comfortable? Does your reach expand to reach the outer limits of your ethical potential? If you don't have these kinds of thoughts from time to time, or are not involved in some sort of struggle for justice ... you are missing some form of normative component to your education."
Nader said the education system does not place enough value on teaching students civil justice. Students do not learn to feel comfortable expressing their opinions on social and civil justice when they feel their opinions are too controversial because they have only been taught to memorize and regurgitate material.
"The worst kind of censorship is self-censorship," Nader said. "If you do not hone your own sense of injustice you will not develop a sense of justice. That tends to dim the capacity for critical thinking no matter how many books you read."
Nader spoke of the 20s as being a critical decade for forming one's sense of social justice and political activism.
"What you do in life will largely be decided by the vector you set in your 20s," Nader said. "Later you will have more wisdom, but it starts in your 20s."
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