The renowned comedienne Wanda Sykes unleashed the following in I’ma Be Me, her latest HBO special: “We really do need to revamp our education system. It doesn’t work. It does not work. … We don’t learn anything. It’s not comprehension—it’s just retention, it’s just rote. That’s it. We just keep it long enough to spit it back out—pass the test, and we get rid of that sh--. … It’s like our brain’s a big Etch-A-Sketch.
 
At this Wanda began rattling her head vigorously, in like manner of a kid erasing scrawls from an Etch-A-Sketch pad, leaving audience members bent over from cracked ribs. But in jest, as is often said, much truth is told.
 

Shock-jocks understand that in times of economic uncertainty and political upheaval, human beings are vulnerable and impressionable, and can be manipulated with ease. ...
 

[A slightly altered version of this essay can be read here: http://www.opednews.com/populum/print_friendly.php?p=Do-Youth-Count-on-the-Left-by-Tolu-Olorunda-100125-697.html]
 

The Gospel of Luke, found in The Holy Bible, tells a very sweet story of rebellion, recalcitrance, and redemption. "A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living," Jesus of Nazareth is quoted telling his disciples (KJV). Shortly after, one son takes off for a "far country" in which he squanders all his "substance with riotous living"--a weekend in Vegas, perhaps. His consumerist adventure, however, is cut short soon when famine falls over the land--and the big banks, having pocketed tax-payer money, stop lending.

I was at an academic conference last Thursday morning when a lady announced to some sitting nearby, "Students have just occupied UCLA!" The reactions were mostly supportive of the actions taken by a generation of people so often demonized for what is believed to be widespread irresponsibility and nonchalance. It wasn't before getting back home later at night that I realized the magnitude of what had taken place only a few hours earlier. 

“Africa will only remain when it realizes that the future remains with the youths.”—Oby Ezekwesili

Throughout our near-50 years as a free country, all indications that Youth play a part in sustaining and safeguarding the fundamental foundations of our democratic experiment have been validated time and time again. And there’s little doubt that the concern for the future of young people is of top priority with elected officials.

A couple of weeks back, Attorney General Eric Holder, responding to the horrific caught-on-tape death of 16-year-old Chicagoan Derrion Albert, hoped it would serve as a "stark wake-up call to a reality that can be easy for too many to ignore as they go about their daily lives." More importantly, Holder poignantly explained why the ongoing onslaught of Youth-on-Youth attacks must be understood within a universal context: "Youth violence is not a Chicago problem anymore than it is a black problem, a white problem, or a Hispanic problem. ...

They went to school expecting to learn the wonders of the world and acquire the academic skills requisite for a successful career; instead, they were “indoctrinated” into the Cult of Obama, brainwashed into praising the politics of Hitler’s reincarnation.

There are many kinds of storms, unveiling different degrees of disaster and demolition. Most storms leave a legacy of chaos and catastrophe behind them. But there are a few storms built with rare prestige and potency, yielding such unbelievable effect, that years, decades, perhaps even centuries, after, tales of their wonder are still being lamented from the lips of eye-witnesses, historians, descendants, and meteorologists. These storms aren't pyrrhic; they're long-lasting--eternal in measure.

Such was, and is, Hurricane Katrina.

For some, the first five months of Obama’s presidency have marked the dawn of a new era; a time when governance is filtered through the channels of pragmatism and diplomacy. For others, these five months have confirmed a belief long-held before candidate Obama overtook Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee - that he was not the change-agent he had so eloquently claimed to be.