The Bieber effect
By Shane Bocchi
This article could be written on several of the problems the United States is facing. We could begin at the poor economy, which is making finding a job an extremely difficult thing to do and a career even more challenging, not to mention the increasing statistic that is unemployment.
Then there is the issue with our federal debt, which is the astronomical number of $17,417,753,530,417.08. There is the critical subject of universal health care, which has been given the name “Obamacare." The list of issues goes on and on, but there is one problem that America decided to act on quickly.
It came in the form of Justin Bieber. Yes, the one and only pop singer, who took the nation, and world, by storm in 2008 when he was discovered on Youtube and taken under the wing of R&B superstar Usher.
Recently, things have been anything but smooth for the singing sensation. Let’s just say he has been on a bit of a wild streak, being pulled over for a DUI, egging a neighbor's house, and being arrested for allegedly assaulting a limo driver, just to name a few. That was enough for Americans to realize that he is becoming a nuisance and it is time to act. Oh yes, one teenage superstar starts to act out a little bit and U.S. citizens step up to the plate to have him removed from the country.
This is not an article defending Bieber, but an article questioning the American people and their ignorance or laziness to turn the other way from prominent problems. But when a celebrity does things they disagree with, they take matters into their own hands. The American people decided they had had enough of the singer and petitioned to have him removed from the country.
OK, that may not seem like a big deal. People petition for things all the time. This is different because once a petition reaches 100,000 signatures on the whitehouse.gov website, it becomes the president's problem. Not only does President Obama have to deal with the issues mentioned above, and then some, but now he has a 19-year-old Canadian pop star to deal with. As of now, the petition stands at 261,000 signatures. To put into perspective just how ridiculous this is, a petition to declare the extremist Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization reached 204,500 signatures.
Why, America? Out of all the dilemmas in this great country, Americans have decided this was the most important issue and something had to be done about it. What does this say about where America’s priorities are?
Several college students were asked to share their thoughts on the petition to deport Bieber and revoke his green card.
“I think it is absurd that people are showing this much attention to him, especially when he is doing stupid (Expletive),” one
stated.
“I like him! I don’t want to see him deported, I don’t care what he did. It’s not like he murdered someone,” another said.
“I think it shows what the people really care about. We care about the least impactful things. He is a waste of time,” added another.
“He is an ass and he should be shipped back to Canada," yet another stated. "He isn’t doing anything useful here. Get him out so we can move on.”
Well, Justin Bieber’s future in the United States is in the busy hands of President Obama, who has yet to act on the matter. And who can blame him? As for America’s future, well, that is too unstable to predict at the moment. But if Americans' passion and quick recognition of the Justin Bieber problem gives any indication, well, the future looks dismal.
Read more about Shane Bocchi on his blog.
This article could be written on several of the problems the United States is facing. We could begin at the poor economy, which is making finding a job an extremely difficult thing to do and a career even more challenging, not to mention the increasing statistic that is unemployment.
Then there is the issue with our federal debt, which is the astronomical number of $17,417,753,530,417.08. There is the critical subject of universal health care, which has been given the name “Obamacare." The list of issues goes on and on, but there is one problem that America decided to act on quickly.
It came in the form of Justin Bieber. Yes, the one and only pop singer, who took the nation, and world, by storm in 2008 when he was discovered on Youtube and taken under the wing of R&B superstar Usher.
Recently, things have been anything but smooth for the singing sensation. Let’s just say he has been on a bit of a wild streak, being pulled over for a DUI, egging a neighbor's house, and being arrested for allegedly assaulting a limo driver, just to name a few. That was enough for Americans to realize that he is becoming a nuisance and it is time to act. Oh yes, one teenage superstar starts to act out a little bit and U.S. citizens step up to the plate to have him removed from the country.
This is not an article defending Bieber, but an article questioning the American people and their ignorance or laziness to turn the other way from prominent problems. But when a celebrity does things they disagree with, they take matters into their own hands. The American people decided they had had enough of the singer and petitioned to have him removed from the country.
OK, that may not seem like a big deal. People petition for things all the time. This is different because once a petition reaches 100,000 signatures on the whitehouse.gov website, it becomes the president's problem. Not only does President Obama have to deal with the issues mentioned above, and then some, but now he has a 19-year-old Canadian pop star to deal with. As of now, the petition stands at 261,000 signatures. To put into perspective just how ridiculous this is, a petition to declare the extremist Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization reached 204,500 signatures.
Why, America? Out of all the dilemmas in this great country, Americans have decided this was the most important issue and something had to be done about it. What does this say about where America’s priorities are?
Several college students were asked to share their thoughts on the petition to deport Bieber and revoke his green card.
“I think it is absurd that people are showing this much attention to him, especially when he is doing stupid (Expletive),” one
stated.
“I like him! I don’t want to see him deported, I don’t care what he did. It’s not like he murdered someone,” another said.
“I think it shows what the people really care about. We care about the least impactful things. He is a waste of time,” added another.
“He is an ass and he should be shipped back to Canada," yet another stated. "He isn’t doing anything useful here. Get him out so we can move on.”
Well, Justin Bieber’s future in the United States is in the busy hands of President Obama, who has yet to act on the matter. And who can blame him? As for America’s future, well, that is too unstable to predict at the moment. But if Americans' passion and quick recognition of the Justin Bieber problem gives any indication, well, the future looks dismal.
Read more about Shane Bocchi on his blog.