So what is a jihad?

What do cultures in the Middle East actually believe?

Why are Israelis and Palestinians constantly fighting?

Why are Muslims in Europe so upset about cartoons portraying the prophet Muhammad?

Don’t know the answers to these questions? Or are you part of a growing amount of students dropping the apathetic and “cool to be stupid” persona that has become the stereotype for our age group?

Students across campus are picking up newspapers, tuning into the nightly news and enrolling in classes in order to learn more about what is going on in the area our country has invested so much time, effort and money into — the Middle East.

As of right now, N.C. State offers a minor in Middle Eastern studies and is considering creating a major on the subject.

The fascination with the Middle East reflects the same trend that we saw growing up in the ’80s when all films, books and video games seemed to discuss, criticize or attack the Soviet Union. As turmoil erupts fascination grows — it’s a trend.

The truth is, though, we shouldn’t be interested in foreign affairs only when they drop on our doorstep. Controversy in the Middle East has been going on since it was called the Fertile Crescent at the beginning of human history and people have been discussing it long before Sept. 11. Perhaps learning about the Middle East prior to Sept. 11 would help people understand better the causes of it and the wars that erupt around the region today.

Information on international affairs is available at all times; it’s just whether a person wants to learn about it. Consistently people cry out about not understanding crises that occur around the world because they aren’t publicized enough (i.e. Sudan), but in actuality a plethora of information is there if you want to read it. Sadly, as evident with high enrollment in Middle Eastern classes, we are only interested in affairs that involve our country and that affect our daily lives.

Hopefully though, this rise in interest in these classes shows that our attitudes really are changing and that we will become more educated about the affairs of people that we don’t see on the nightly news.

The educated person who has left Plato’s proverbial cave can demand a change to injustices around the world and actually make a difference, which is something that we should all strive for beyond taking classes to fulfill general education requirements.