OPINION & EDITORIAL
Campus war protests sparce
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Ben White:
- Bush's isolation on Iraq War highlights need for withdrawal (November 26, 2007)
- Biden, Kucinich true Oval Office material (November 12, 2007)
- Liberal arts merit alumni attention (October 29, 2007)
- Child gun access allows shootings (October 15, 2007)
- Myanmar protests mandate US action (October 1, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Support our troops: protest (April 16, 2003)
- Troop funding shouldn't be jeopardized (April 10, 2007)
- At ease, soldier: America must loosen military grip on foreign policy (November 14, 2007)
- Anti-war, pro-troops (September 21, 2007)
- Militarism overwhelms American culture (February 11, 2005)
by Ben White
Monday, February 12, 2007
The words that you are about to read hopefully will shock you: Students especially, and Americans in general, for the most part, do not care enough about the Iraq war. That is not to downplay the true sentiments of people's wish for our troops to succeed, but I do believe that the disconnect between your everyday Americans and the people fighting for them is greater now than in any other major war our nation has ever fought.
In a USA Today-Gallup poll taken a few months ago, "11 percent of respondents said they had a close friend, family member, or co-worker who was wounded or killed in the Iraq war." According to a story from the Washington Post, it is noted that "more than 1.3 million troops had been deployed to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." So why the separation? Why such a disconnect between those who have so much riding on this war — parents, spouses, children and everyone else? Isn't it disturbing that the families of those 1.3 million people are spending their time fearing for the death of a loved one while we idle here, our only concerns being that of keeping warm, going to class, and maximizing our party time?
On the subject of parties, something struck me at my last holiday party, the Super Bowl last Sunday. Maybe you didn't notice in the anticipation of such an important football game, but where was the moment of silence for our troops? After Sept. 11, 2001, we rightfully took moments out of every nationally significant event to honor the dead. So what is going on that, during the war, a war in which the American casualties have now surpassed that of 9/11, and one in which we know many more will die, we cannot take a single minute out of our festivities to honor them? Although a moment of silence may sound like a superficial concept, it is the idea that our troops are not constantly in our minds that is disturbing. While it is true that the best way to cope with a mortifying situation such as 9/11 is to go on with our lives, there is a point at which coping becomes indifference.
One possible reason for the student disconnect is that college students are mostly middle class and up, people who notoriously do not fight in our modern wars. That is because we are currently fighting a war with a completely volunteer army. There are two types of people who volunteer to die for their country. The first are the people filled with the utmost of patriotism, willing to die so that our nation's ideals do not. The second group is those left with no choices in life, failed by a system that didn't do much to help them out; they are forced to sacrifice so much in an attempt to achieve the quickly fading concept of the American Dream. While many of the students at this school take for granted their advantage of a higher education, there are people our same age and even younger who would love to be here with us yet are forced to die.
The good news is that things are changing. A little more than a week ago, a large anti-war protest took place in Washington, D.C., that numbered in the tens of thousands, including a large UW contingent. Although it was a step forward, where are the million-person protests that took place during the Vietnam War? Where are the student walk-outs? Where are the famous people defying the government to take a stand, a la Muhammad Ali? My hope is that it does not take tens of thousands of Americans lives — like Vietnam did — for us to realize the magnitude of our situation.
We need to experience this war every day of our lives. We need to talk about it, read about it, and organize against it. It's not enough to simply post flyers or write articles. This campus was a hotbed of anti-Vietnam activity and needs to take a larger stance in the atrocity of today. I'm not sure what the missing link is between the students of the 1970s and their failed war and the students of today and ours, but we need to do more to find it.
We need to heed the words of soldier Keith Franklin, who was killed in Vietnam: "If you are reading this letter, you will never see me again, the reason being that if you are reading this I have died. The question is whether or not my death has been in vain. The answer is yes. The war that has taken my life and many thousands before me is immoral, unlawful and an atrocity. … I had no choice as to my fate. It was predetermined by the war-mongering hypocrites in Washington. As I lie dead, please grant my last request. Help me inform the American people, the silent majority who have not yet voiced their opinions."
Ben White (bwhite2@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in political science and sociology.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 3:35am):
Where is your Asshok Kumar now? Where is he? Where is that activism? Where'd they go? That's right, they worked you. Emma Goldman in da house, ya heard?
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 7:29am):
He's not just anti-war, he's on the other side.
If we surrender in the jihad to see all the world under the control of Islam, then we will not be free. Victory, submission or death are the ONLY choices.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 7:53am):
When we do protest, no one listens. The 2006 mid-term elections were a clarion call to our elected legislators. What have they done with our mandate? Raised minimum wage.
Hillary Clinton, do you think your vote was a mistake? Blah, blah, blah, if I knew what I know now... president mishandled... Dick Cheney evil.
Bullshit! Hillary, if you want to be even considered in 2008, quit your doublespeak and start demanding the resignation of this president. And don't even THINK about being hawkish on Iran.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 7:55am):
7:29, yeah, the world will be under control of Islam. That's likely. They'll probably make everyone squat to pee, just like you too.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 9:08am):
"7:29, yeah, the world will be under control of Islam. That's likely."
Perhaps more likely than you think. If the Moslems turned off the oil - what then?
The Franks have no Martel and the Gates of Vienna stand no more. We will likely see Europe turn into Eurabia within decades.
Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for Western Civilization as it commits suicide.
Jerry Pournelle
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 9:54am):
Which is awkward, seeing how Liberalism has survived while monarchy and fascism have died out, and Communism is gasping for breath, only alive because they have reformed their economies into ones that look strangely similar to the economies of the European countries.
And they can afford to turn the oil off less than we can afford to not have they oil. Aside from the oil, they have no economy.
Now, why I don't protest: Because I know this war is lost already. We tried fighting a war of reformation. It's time for us to get out and let the Muslim countries slaughter themselves in a civil war. It might be cruel, but at some point war is necessary to come to some solution. The only problem is this isn't our war.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 11:11am):
"It's time for us to get out and let the Muslim countries slaughter themselves in a civil war."
Well if this is Liberalism then sign me up! I guess I was thinking about the Liberalism that precludes profiling to protect airline passengers or stuff like:
Remember that small Canadian town that outlawed "stoning to death of women"? Well, the Canadian version of CAIR is suing for violations of civil rights: The right to stone women to death.
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=72d7b831-6e45-46f7-9d33-55ec4324f3e6&k=87787
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 11:16am):
The 250,000 in DC shows that the war is being questioned. The Dems must be exposed for their doublespeak, redeployment means funding air bombing and death squads. No war with Iran! Support resisting soldiers!
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 11:46am):
"We make war that we may live in peace."
--Aristotle--
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 11:48am):
Except for ending slavery, fascism, nazism and communism -- war has never solved anything.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 12:00pm):
If we're going to embrace a philosophy of preemptive realism, why shouldn't they? If they can strangle us with a fuel pump, they're just playing by our rulebook. But let's look at how we got stuck in this situation--primarily, corporate industrial greed. Liberalism may be a philosophy of consolation, but capitalism sold us the rope we're hanging ourselves with.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 12:09pm):
Sparce??? you must be kidding.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 12:49pm):
Ben there are two reasons we don't see any campus protests.
1. The anti-war crowd, among other liberal camps, made such arrogant pigs of themselves back in the nineties that they eventually wore out their welcome.
2. They're waiting for their second wind, that being the impending war with Iran, then EVERYONE will be an anti-war protester!
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 1:08pm):
9:08, the Muslims would never 'turn off the oil.' It's pretty much their only legal source of wealth in the world economy. (You know, other than illegal drugs and sex slaves) They might refuse to sell it to us, the USA, but then they would sell it to other people, who would sell some of it to us, albeit at a higher price. So oil would be more expensive, boo hoo hoo. Isn't that what happened because of these wars in the first place? Would expensive oil really be such a bad thing? It encourages conservation of gasoline and innovation in alternative fuels. It's about damn time we had some expensive gas.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 2:57pm):
It sooooooo stupid to burn carbon. The universe in general runs on nuclear power - we should too.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 5:18pm):
It amounts to nothing more than a show of moral support for America's enemies and lets them know that all they have to do hold a little bit longer.
Soon a cut'n'run dummycrat will put tail firmly between legs and scurry away.
Once the US is out of the Middle East the Moslems can get back to pushing for the return of al-Andalus.
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 7:18pm):
Why do you assume that the only way to be actively engaged in the war issue is to protest against it?
Anonymous (February 12, 2007 @ 10:02pm):
"Why do you assume that the only way to be actively engaged in the war issue is to protest against it?"
These are tha same people that thought Saddam could be talked into being good an now think that talk will convince the Iranian madman and the tyrant in North Korea to be good.
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH - BAH HUMBUG
Add a comment
We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.
Login...
Not registered? Sign up now.
It's quick, free, and the email address you provide will not be sold or solicited.
