There is something very wrong with this country. Reason and logic are reduced to ash as the infernos of extremism decimate the integrity of our nation. If you see what I see, and if you feel as I feel, I urge you to read on.

Today marks the 405th anniversary of the failed Gunpowder Plot to destroy the English Parliament. Specifically, today marks the day that a man named Guy Fawkes forfeited his life in the name of an idea. Guy Fawkes and twelve other conspirators saw that the foundations of their country were corrupt. In response, they hatched a plan to assassinate their King and destroy Parliament in one fell swoop. If they had succeeded, the Gunpowder Plot would have allowed for the leaders they felt would more justly serve the people to ascend to their appropriate positions.

We admire drastic actions such as these through the stories we tell, the movies we watch and the books we read. However, the truth of the matter is that in these times there can no longer be a lone hero that guides his nation away from the approaching chaos. The extremism we see on television every day is the result of a nation whose citizens have lost faith in their ability to make a change. In a nation as large and complex as our own, it is the duty of each individual to rise up and be his or her own hero. Each of us should feel obligated to educate ourselves on the issues at hand. Each of us should feel obligated to fight against the injustices we see across the world. For too long have cynicism and apathy crippled the unfathomable potential within the youth of our nation. Extremism can only be fought by the collective power of rationalism. Thousands of people speaking in a calm manner is deafening in comparison to the few who choose to scream.

This nation can be ours again. We simply need to find the will to do what we know must be done. Thirteen men found that will 405 years ago. Remember those men so that they can serve as an inspiration for what we can accomplish when we find it in ourselves the will to act.

Samuel Farshchian is a freshman philosophy major and guest columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].