Motivate for Change

JACK
The next president takes office almost two years from now, and my question is to you what are the young people doing to stop the madness that is the Iraq War now. During the Vietnam era, there were numerous protests, many missions to Washington and millions of appeals to our elected representatives. Today it is happening to a degree, but not nearly as much as it would take to have an impact. Where are the young activists in enough numbers to make an impact? Is it just because we are now fighting with a volunteer army, and people in your age bracket are not being threatened with the draft?

HILLARY
Well, first of all, I’m 31 so people in my age bracket are not eligible for any draft. Nonetheless, when the country was first told that we were going to Iraq there were HUGE protests. Millions of Americans assembled across the country to denounce the plans. However, the media chose to not cover those events. And that has been true of every protest since. There are several community marches in the Los Angeles area that have gone on without any notice, and I think this is the reason why people are choosing not to go anymore. They don’t feel like their voices are being heard. Recently, there was a push, and hundreds of thousands of people descended on Washington to protest the additional funds for the war, but again the media coverage was limited. You don’t see what YOU saw during the Vietnam War, because the establishment has gotten smarter. They don’t have troops firing on students and attack dogs at the ready. They know that this will only bring more attention. They choose to allow the assembly, but they keep the media from covering it.

JACK
During the Vietnam War, I was already in my 40s and many in my generation and those that followed were involved in bringing an end to the war.

HILLARY
But it was a very different time.

JACK
And yours is probably the most brilliant and the most resourceful generation in our history, and I do believe that if there was enough dedication on the part of enough people they would find a way, and I am not sure that this is not happening. I believe, for example, that the millions of bloggers on the Internet are doing the coverage that the traditional press is notice. This is a weapon that we did not have previously. The capability to communicate and reach more people has increased despite the lack of cajones on the part of the traditional press. I have to say once more that the answer is not immediately apparent but I feel if motivated, your generation can make anything happen. And once more, a great deal of our motivation during Vietnam was that if we were no longer of military age, our children and our friends were constantly being threatened. I don’t know why it has not happened over the past four years. How much more can the headlines say when the fact that the coalition has all but disappeared with the withdrawal of British troops and it has become, if it wasn’t before, an American war.

HILLARY
It seems unlikely that a bunch of kids with their computers can put an end to the war, but I think they can change the course of their country by motivating campaigns to get the right kind of people in office.

JACK
I am not sure what will work in 2007, but in 1970 a business group, in which I was involved, persuaded the chairman of IBM and the bank of America to come out against the war and the major reason that they gave was it really is bad for business. I have always felt that all major movements are motivated by the economy. To find the real villain, find the people that are profiting most by perpetuating this or any other war.

HILLARY
There are organizations out there, such as Peace Action, that have been working to establish the link in the public’s eyes between war and profit, but they have been trying to do that for over fifty years, and people are still dying. I think what you are really hitting on, however, is a general sense of resignation. I don’t know if I believe that I, or a group of us, can really stop the war — even if 10 million of us took to the streets. Do you truly believe that it would make a difference?

JACK
I really believe that in order to make a difference the protest would have to take another form. History tells us that action has followed the protest when part of the pattern was an act of civil disobedience, or it was some kind of boycott. I guess the story is not that a million people protested in the street, but maybe a million people did the French job, and called in sick — having a one day strike in protest. I really do not have the answer, except for the fact that there must be one. Maybe establishment has to get hit in the pocket before the politicians will act.

HomeSite Map

Communication is inspiration! Share your thoughts below.