Response to Lambert Smith: Times have changed for student protesters

I think this article started off really well. The "problems" that students are having today concerning protesting was very suprising to me. I never would have guessed that students care more about watching TV than doing good for their world, and standing up for what they believe in. I actually found it pretty dispicable that students barely even care what about what is happening around them.
But, on the other hand, students may have reasons why they aren't so strongly against the war in Afghanistan. First of all, there isn't a draft. So many don't feel the need to get involved if it doesn't involve them directly. I find this kind of sad, that people only care about things that revolve around them. I think the author was right when he said how "everyone is cocooned in their own little worlds." This is so true. The society and culture that we have today isn't as involved as it used to be.
I think that needs to change. People need to start caring about the rest of the world, and thinking outside the box. I am sure a great number of people already do this, but there are too many who have become unaware and shut down from the rest of the world. Lambert Smith proves this by stating simply that people won't bother to protest because their favourite TV show was on that night. The day of the meeting actually had to be changed so people would even attend.
This is why our culture and society needs to change--drastically. Little changes are happening everyday, and that is great, but we need to do even more.
To start, just telling other people about this topic, or other worldly events that get society more involved and aware, would be extremely helpful. There are many things like this that people can do. They may seem small, but every little bit counts.
I didn't really catch what the conclusion of the article was trying to point out. After protesting, a student asked for a plastic bag to clean up after themselves. Was this meant to be a bad thing? Smith said in his concluding sentence that the times have "most certainly change." The whole argument he was making throughout the writing kind of clashed with this last part. How did practicing cleanliness and being polite strengthen his argument that students aren't as envolved anymore. It seemed a bit off topic to me.
I liked the rest of the article though. It was defianately the shocking facts that got me interested in this article. That is what is so great about reading. You have a different experience each time, and although it may not always be a positive one, you always learn something new.