Updates
In the time that I have neglected this site, America has started a war without the support of the international community, the economy has weakened past the point of comfort, Bush's popularity has increased, and liberal morale has taken a plunge. Oh, I have also discovered that I am an unpatriotic, as well as every other anti-war activist. I also created a new group at my school duly dubbed IPOL, Intellectually Pissed Off Liberals, and have attempted to make a liberal newsletter (yes, it may be more appropriate to call it liberal propaganda). Although I am the only one excited about this concept and nothing will come of it without extreme prodding of my fellow authors, I do have a first draft of the extremely vague articles I wrote. The first is a simple explanation of the title "Bread and Roses", while the second... your guess is as good as mine. If you can find a constant theme I'll give you gummy bears.
In the year of 1912 a battle
began in Lawrence, Massachusetts. While this was not a battle
fought with swords or artillery, the war for equality spread throughout
the factories in America; a war that strove to give the workers
of our country the rights to which every human should be privileged.
Twenty thousand workers, strong enough to work a sixteen hour
day but not worthy enough to receive citizenship, joined together
to fight not only for their own rights, but for the betterment
of generations to come. Health care, the eight hour work day,
a ban on child labor, these liberties were not given by enlightened
employers, they were fought for, died for.
While the voices in Lawrence enveloped the working class, one
lone woman held a sign that represented the want of the people:
"we want bread, but we want roses, too." This sentiment
encompasses every strike, every revolt and every vigil held throughout
history; the bare minimum is not enough.
Today we fight a different battle. While we do not stand on a
picket line, we are on a quest for true peace, we are on a crusade
for our leaders to recognize the past and change their actions
accordingly, we are in pursuit of equality. The economic hardship
that faces our country and the dissent among nations will effect
our generation, we must not become apathetic to the tribulations
of our world. We will be the ones drafted in wars, we will be
the ones paying for our parents' social security and we will face
the consequences of the continuing destruction of the environment...
this will not change unless we take action. It is our obligation
to leave this world in better condition than we found it upon
our arrival, whether it is better environmentally, socio-economically,
or in the unification of nations. We want peace, but we want freedom,
equity, and tolerance, too.
Jefferson's grave is shaking for the democracy we have lost. Whether
Republican or Progressive, pro or anti-war, the intrinsic liberties
to which we were privileged have been shattered. The irony of
a war fought for democracy, a war to ensure stability in a chaotic
world begun after our government ignored the call for restraint
within our own borders is hypocrisy at its best. Millions of voices
called for peace, and yet the words were drowned out by fear and
labeled as "unpatriotic". What is patriotism if not
a love so deep for ones country that peace and reasonable dissent,
our founding fathers own vision of a future, impels citizens to
call for an end of arms? What is democracy if those voices are
not heard, but ignored, not respected, but insulted. A land of
stability and true liberation for our own nation is not out of
our grasp; democracy can be restored.
Although we must maintain our own freedom, America must not be
an isolationist power intent on ignoring the opinions of the world
community. By insulting France, by offering bribes to Turkey for
support despite the anti-war stance of its people, by criticizing
Russia and Germany our nation began a new kind of dictatorship
of the world. Can a humanitarian effort be stained with the blood
of children? How can we fight a war for democracy and liberation
when the United Nations, a democratic organization, was silenced?
We must not become the evil we wish to destroy, nor should we
deepen the ideological dichotomy of right verses wrong. Our nation's
history is soiled with hate and unrest, listening to the ideas
of the world and its inhabitants is the first step to ending the
continuum of violence. The people of Iraq may have lost a dictator,
and for that w shall rejoice, but what does this do to the state
of our lands? Do we now move into Chechnya, fight for a Palestinian
homeland or work to end civil wars in Africa? We have a bipartisanship
system of government for an explicit purpose; we cannot construct
a world with one ideology. The global community must feel comfortable
in expressing their objections to questionable policies. This
is not a luxury, but a right.
Just as our neighbors must continue to assert their opinions,
the voices opposing war should not be silenced by American action
in Iraq. It is the duty of each one of us, as both citizens and
sentient beings, to examine the policies of our nation, create
an opinion based on legitimate facts and fight for our beliefs,
universal solidarity of unpopular legislation is not acceptable.
Despite the need for dissenting opinions, there must be a distinction
between the instigators of war and the men and women who are fighting.
It is essential to support the moral of each military personnel,
no matter their given assignments. Old men declare war, it is
the youth who must die. A distinction between the protest of policies
and the support for our troops must be acknowledged, though the
message for peace cannot diminish.
It is our duty to assert opinions contrary to those of our government.
If the Bush administration deems it necessary to silence the voices
of this country, whether the people are singing the words of peace
or waving the flames of anarchy, the civil liberties of our nation
must not be destroyed if our democracy is to continue. Freedom
is expression, unity is the result of dissent; do not be silenced
by the drums of war.