COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Counter-Recruitment: General
Activists should mimic Berkeley
Kendra Fujino, Daily 49er
Feburary 12, 2008
With Super Tuesday behind us, our campus of voters has an idea of thefuture that may be looming over the horizon: a future of change, a
future of peace and a future that we have hardly attempted to sculpt
on our own.
Our generation is a far cry from that of our parents whose
psychedelic, Woodstockin' , anti-war rally days defined their era and
gave us such gems as tie-dyed clothes and LSD.
In a time when the opportunity and responsibility to bring about
change is falling upon our shoulders, where is the heat? Where is the
anger? Where is the rally monkey? Apparently, it's in Berkeley.
Berkeley is the political Mecca of dissention. In 2006, the ballsy
Bay Area community voted to impeach President Bush. Just recently,
"Berkelites" designated the Marine Corps recruiting office as the
next thorn in their pacifist side as the anti-war group Code Pink,
named in honor of the Terror Alert System, rallied to win a parking
spot outside the "uninvited and unwelcome" Marine Corps recruiting
office for the use of protesting.
If Code Pink is able to drive out a military office with the help of
a compact parking spot, CSULB students should win control of one of
the parking structures. It'd be four stories of pure anarchy.
So, while Berkeley is sticking it to the man, why aren't we?
We are about to inherit a waning economy, a widely hated war and a
global reputation based on our president and his awkward use of the
English language.
With all of this dissatisfaction and calls for change (my favorite
term since evildoers), why aren't we a proactive force of millions?
Two reasons, folks. For one, we are not the college students of the
past. Our lives are so stocked with school, papers, midterms, work,
relationships, beer and midnight showings of "Cloverfield" that we
don't have the time or the needed space to actively make politics a priority.
Our campus barely has any anti-war organization and, truth be told,
how many people even notice? We'll vote, we'll be sure to check out
the Obamagirl video on YouTube and, with a shot of Jack Daniels,
we'll toast to world peace.
Reason two for our inactivity is a complete lack of motivation. This
general feeling of resignation - not to be fooled with apathy because
we're fully capable of sparking a heated debate in poli sci - stems
from knowing that we can't make a difference in today's administration.
We can protest for solidarity's sake, but as far as sending a message
to Washington, that change comes from within. Which is why this
election has been such a drawn-out epic battle.
Last October, I took part in the Los Angeles anti-war march.
According to Answer.org, 10,000 people marched for peace that day
and, while it was a memorable and inspiring experience, all it really
did was cause gridlock in downtown L.A.
Protests or not, I toast to world peace and I vote.
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