Think, therefore you are

I'd like to take this opportunity to say in my last column for the Fall semester that I have enjoyed writing this parlay between philosophy, political commentary, and pop culture and really address the need for students at Metro to challenge their own thinking-and mine if need be.

I have found there is a sad lack of students who read their own student run and produced newspaper despite the facts that it is free, tries desperately for their perspective and is funded by their hard earned and borrowed tuition fees-so maybe it's not completely free-and might give you something to think about.

The problem may run deeper than that; perhaps it is a question of values. Maybe my column sucks and I have been all this time, writing something that big-shot consulting editors think is dull.

Perhaps my sense of humor is too dry and my column too frenetic as a result.

I have tried to give my take on a variety of issues. If it's possible, can you, the reader, be so bold as to make a friendly suggestion? I have an empty email box. Not even a single death threat.

I have gotten two relatively angry e-mails from a pseudo-intellectual who called me a neo-conservative (miss the Oct. 20 publication?), a large-capacity blog from someone I know (as a joke), and a come-on of epic proportions where the reader asked me out to "coffee."

I guess that's what "smart" liberals drink. Make sure it's not Starbucks, so we don't have to read another column about it.

Perhaps what I need is market research into who my demographic is and the best way to write what would appeal to their attention span. Afterall, philosophy has to be more real to stay relevant, right?

Wait. Actually, a lot of people do think philosophy is bullshit. If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me how the hell it's useful, I wouldn't have anxiety attacks over how I will pay for next semester.

I could discuss the demand for Xbox, celebrity gossip and Top-40 music. Has higher education at Metro been raided by the MTV generation? In history, my teacher asked the class, how many people had read the constitution and three people raised their hands. Just 90 percent claimed to be registered voters. Wow.

The point is, people, that I would share my love of this discipline with you so that you would remain relevant to your own thinking.

That you might, as a result, find a compelling thought to share with one of your classmates, have a conversation topic for your "coffee" date, or have something to be confused about.

That is what everyone wants to know: How quickly (convenience) can I synthesize (buzzword) this data (binary), so that I might graduate and have a better career (money)? Here's the equation: C+S/W2= education. I could put it on a spreadsheet.

Whatever happened to a love of thinking in your life? Food for thought, as you indulge in this beautifully commercial and overwrought holiday season.