A Case for Soil Conservation

bonsoir all,

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I should be studying for a rather foreboding AP Environmental Science test that is rapidly approaching. However, I feel that my grasp of various soil types is secondary to a topic that has lately percolated through all strata of social media  (Sorry Mr. Schubert).

I have not involved myself in neither advocating nor criticizing the protests in Ferguson, Missouri surrounding the death of young Michael Brown, nor the recant chokehold case in New York City. The stories have been a little bit like flu season: contagious.  Our country's eyes have been glued on this Missourian town and bustling urban center, but now it feels like everyone knows something I do not. Why are we protesting? 

The answer seems obvious. With Twitter practically overrun with shared photos of protests nationwide, the cry for control within our justice system is not because of the single death of this young boy. No, the nationwide protest, I believe, has spread from one initial sneeze that has manifested into into a tummy-turning turmoil that rarely allows the brain to cool its fever and ask why am I here? 

The top results that appeared after I searched "#ferguson" on Twitter. These photos were minutes old.  

For those of you who have taken U.S. History, think of the formation of our government. It's a constant see-saw ride between wanting and disliking intervention. The American police system has become a standard we take for granted. We require protection, but don't accept its overuse. We expect justice, but reject when its actions appear ignorant of our humanity.

I think I am finally addressing the circumstance now that it has reached our own high school. Many of my peers have adopted strong opinions regarding the situation, but honestly, I'm pretty confused. As Millennials, we receive our news via retweets. While the accessibility to awareness is heightened, the availability of fact is hard to perceive.

I check Twitter probably about four times an hour, and it appears that within each visit, a new opinion is presented to me. One hour I am rushing with the protestors, connecting emotionally to an Twitter post such as this one of a Berkeley student protesting the New York City choke-hold case:

By the end of the next feed scroll-through, I've linked to a Slate article on the conservative case for police reform. While I am so thankful for young people's ability to actively communicate their beliefs, I think that we, myself included, have allowed the nutrients to leach from the soil.

We are all journalists in this situation: reporting, commenting, editorializing, investigating. However, we are remiss of one very important element of journalism. We cannot advocate a cause if we do not understand the who, what, when, where, why, or how of our information. A cause for truth, rather than blind group action, will effect change. We cannot let the things that nourish our ability to accurately encourage a movement be poisoned by over fertilization.

So when you are asked to form an opinion, or are tempted to argue, lie down in the soil instead. Put your cell phone away, and just feel the world beating underneath you. We are all trying to share, live, breathe, and understand one another. As students, we cannot react without justification. I am still searching for my own resolutions regarding the brutality. When I reach them, maybe I'll be right one, or maybe I'll be wrong. Whatever happens, I pray that our world remembers that the roots of our lives lay entangled in the very soil of the same Earth.

Comment, retweet, or write. Let's continue this conversation.

Nicole Fallert