Most of our parents were our age when the Vietnam War was rampantly raging -- some of them probably even fought in the war.
Now, some thirty years later, we as a society are experiencing a number of the same troubles our parents' generation faced. Granted, the Iraq War does not yet compare to the Vietnam War in number of casualties or degree of protesting; however, the shift in public approval of the administration responsible for the war in Iraq has changed quicker in the past two years than public disapproval of the Vietnam War-era administration did in six.
The most striking distinction of the approval shift -- from a time when the country was numb, after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, to almost two and a half years after the attacks and the seemingly unrelated war path to Iraq -- comes a recent release from the New York Times about a school board meeting in Accord, N.Y., during which parents voiced objections to military recruiting at school. Because George W. Bush, to please voters, rejected the notion of a draft and because he previously instituted his No Child Left Behind Act, making it easier for recruiters to reach students, the lessons of the hardships of a draft are being replaced by Big Brother's right to impede on the privacy of the home and the sanctity of the school place. The law requires schools to turn over their students' phone numbers and addresses, unless the parents opt out, but I wonder how many school administrators honestly and wholeheartedly made a valiant effort to inform students of their rights.
And the buck doesn't stop there. The No Child Left Behind Act mandates that school districts can receive federal funds only if they grant military recruiters "the same access to secondary school students" as is provided to colleges and employers.
So, the competition for high school students' futures is fierce. The PTSA of Garfield High School in Seattle voted to ban military recruiters from its schools and its 1600 students, while acknowledging that the district would lose $15 million in education funds. Because the PTSA made this critical decision to protect its children from being lured into enlistment, the schools are now suffering from a lack of educational funding that could help teach students to create a more civilized, peaceful and enlightened world. But hey, instead of giving money to an already literacy-starved America, we can take that $15 million and put it toward repaying the war debt. Nothing like charging 14- to 18-year-olds for a war that was waged by politicians who nary lifted a finger in combat themselves.
Matt Miller, a columnist for the New York Times, wrote "Is Persuasion Dead?" for Saturday's edition, in which he asks, "Is it possible in America today to convince anyone of anything he doesn't already believe? If so, are there enough places where this mingling of minds occurs to sustain a democracy?" He is doubtful, offering many descriptions as to why he feels this is almost unachievable.
But, as much as I would like to take his side, I disagree with his pessimism -- either that or I am truly unaware of how much power politicians in Washington command. I believe that we are human beings living in a democracy with unquestionable rights that hold our society together -- the Declaration of Independence, remember -- with a single phrase that reads: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." Words like these justify our need for a war of our own -- one that takes back our future of hope and truly guarantees no one is left behind.
In the name of the war on terrorism, we have sacrificed the ongoing endeavor for individual freedoms that our forefathers had called unalienable rights. When the time comes for protecting these rights, the militarily is at hand, and we should make sure we are educated enough to know the difference between protection and persuasion.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
