I am on a quest to be brilliant.

A daunting task? Possibly.

An idealist’s dream? Absolutely.

But in today’s world of gridlocked partisan politics and an evident lack of problem solving skills in Washington, maybe what American civilization needs is a little more everyday brilliance.

CNN/ORC released a poll this past week exposing citizens’ post- shutdown government approval ratings. The majority of Americans polled disapprove of both executive and congressional job performance by 52 and 86 percent, respectively. A majority also believe Republican control of the House of Representatives is bad for the country.

The 16-day government shutdown, and American discontent following it, is proof of increasingly frequent and severe partisan inefficiency. Fierce allegiance to the two major political parties by both government officials and citizens is leading the nation toward government ineptitude and the loss of independent critical thinking on political issues.

The result? National progress is being swallowed whole as governing brilliance fades before us.

Dependent thinkers uncritically accept information without questioning its validity, according to the Nondestructive Testing Resource Center. In contrast, independent thinkers strive to make sense of the world through personal observation and experience rather than “just going along with the thoughts of others.”

Groups like political parties help individuals to identify with a general belief system and fellow citizens who share it. Yet simultaneously, this social organization also allows individual reliance on group thinking and a lack of personally understanding the issues at the forefront of today’s political arena.
For example, a self-identified Democrat may “support” the Affordable Care Act because he or she has aligned with some of President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats’ past ideas. But, has this person taken the time to actually investigate the legislation? Often not. Rather his or her support lies on the basis of a party, and not on his or her own critical analysis.

This mindless support without understanding is the pitfall of the American partisan system. It creates a shortage of problem-solvers and a surplus of apathetic citizens. Though many, including students at Syracuse University, align with parties on the basis of consistent issue-comprehension, the majority arguably do not.

How do we change this trend? By challenging ourselves to be brilliant.

The word “brilliance” is often associated with a handful of figures throughout history. Aristotle, Albert Einstein and Franklin D. Roosevelt are names that may come to mind.

But what about the brilliance everyday man is capable of? What about you?

As students, we are presented with the daily challenge of comprehending the brilliance of scholars who came before us. We must interpret the ideas of great thinkers in class, apply their findings to projects and their recall concepts on exams.

Yet being brilliant ourselves does not mean creating the concept of governance or scientific formulas. It means developing independent thinking right now, here at SU, to possibly change the tide of America’s plunging rewind of progress.

The charge to produce brilliance is not presented frequently enough in the college classroom. It is therefore the responsibility of each student to seek the self-discovery of genuine intellect. It is the responsibility of each of us to become citizens who act beyond merely observing the plights of American society.

Critical thinking and independent thought are not only necessary for overall societal improvement, but for individual betterment as well. These skills are identified as top qualities needed for employment success according to a wealth of scholastic research.

The citizenry has spoken and discontent is widespread due to the unfortunate result of partisan reliance. Society is begging for more to think, and more to care.

Today, I challenge you to be brilliant.

Rachael Barillari is a senior political science and Middle Eastern studies major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at rebarill@syr.edu and followed on Twitter at @R_Barillari.

Published on October 24, 2013 at 1:42 am