I can’t remember the last time I heard the national anthem and my eyes didn’t immediately begin to water.

Don’t get me wrong — I am aware that the United States was founded by hell-bent imperialists with genocidal principles, and that the past century has seen our country expand its influence unrelentingly across the globe, using social, economic, and even militaristic forces to extract resources and promote policies in our own self-interest. But I believe that the ideals behind the flag, and the republic for which it stands, are the noblest and most well-intentioned in the world.

One of the duties for the internship I currently hold is to advocate voter registration, and to try to get college-aged youth out to the polls. I refuse to do this, just like I refuse to send the famous “Don’t Vote” viral video (YouTube search: 5 Friends) to five peers as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Aniston advised. In my opinion, if a person needs inspiration from MTV or a pop culture icon to choose the most powerful political figure in the world, I don’t know how well-equipped and well-informed the voter actually is. This is arguably one of the most important elections of contemporary American history.

The young people featured in this issue, however, should draw inspiration. I had the chance to speak with former boxer Joe Mesi running for State Senate in the November 4 election. At the age of 34, Mesi claims to have become engaged in politics because he felt a civic duty to bring money and jobs back to a region where he was born and raised, and is still dedicated to, despite having traveled the world. Sarah Delmonte highlights some of the successes of UB Green and the Environmental Network, a cooperation of students and administration to create a cleaner, greener planet. Lauren Ministero even shows how a college art museum can take monumental environmental measures.

I admit that even I was tempted to claim to be Canadian or European at first when traveling overseas. I quickly learned the saying “I am American, but I am not an asshole” in Spanish so I wouldn’t be associated with the current administration or its policies. But then I realized that being American didn’t have to be connoted with being an asshole. Granted, our leader committed a number of heinous acts both in our own country and in others, but that didn’t necessarily reflect the American people or the American spirit. We still hold the same principles true as Thomas Jefferson did in the Declaration of Independence — and people know that.

A Canadian newscaster named Gordon Sinclair gave a famous radio broadcast in 1973 titled “Let’s Be Personal.” In it, he describes the numerous humanitarian efforts the United States has made in complete selflessness, while being given little to no credit. Sinclair cited numerous examples, including helping to control floods worldwide, propping up European monetary systems when they were in danger of collapsing, and engaging in supportive foreign policy doctrines such as The Marshall Plan (which rebuilt Europe after World War II). I think it’s time that we take actions to once again engage in actions like these while minimizing potential harm in regions of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

There is no time to delay taking part in benevolent actions and restoring global faith in our country. Zimbabwe is on the brink of a nationwide genocide, the situation in Darfur is worsening by the minute, and more than two dozen world leaders can be described as dictators. If ever the world needed the America that Sinclair described, it is now.

Bill Clinton once remarked, “There is nothing wrong in America that can’t be fixed with what is right in America.” It’s up to us, our generation, to revive the principles of liberty, justice, and equality for the betterment of humanity. Fortunately, national, state, and local elections are quickly approaching to give us a chance to do just that.

And not just because Ashton Kutcher told us to.