An Open Letter to the Youth and Students of America
by Lauren Guy McAlpin
WCW North Carolina
Thankfully, George W. Bush only has two and a half more years in
office. With the horrors he has
inflicted on our own society and on the world, it will be good to see him
go. I guarantee the pendulum will swing
back towards the left and we will be saved by a Democratic candidate that will
fix everything. With my faith, I will
vote in 2008, and this time, I will not make the same mistake. Everything will be fine.
Unfortunately,
the above statement describes the sentiments of many young Americans
today.
Perhaps their federal college
grants have been cut. Perhaps they have
a family member or close friend currently serving in Iraq. Maybe they are even seeing their human rights
being quickly stripped away by some fundamentalist agenda. No matter who you are, it is safe to say that
the Bush Regime has somehow negatively affected every young American. The problem is, we have become so apathetic
and complacent that we continue to only look towards the upcoming elections
with the fallacy that “politics as usual” will somehow save us all from being
enslaved by a fascist regime.
Silence and paralysis amongst
today’s youth has become all too common.
It seems we have become so engrained with our country’s systematic
political system that it is hard to imagine actually making a difference for
massive social change. We are told day
after day that our right to vote is the most precious right we have, and that
unconditionally siding with our Democratic candidates is the best possible
route to seeing this country saved from the looming fascism that threatens our
basic freedoms every day. But consider
the following statements
“We cannot take any option off the table in sending clear threats
in sending a clear message to the current leadership of Iran.”
“America’s
military must stand second to none. We
will use force when we have to, including preemptively, without asking anyone’s
permission.”
“The president and I share the belief that
marriage is between a man and a woman.”
“I am and always have been pro-life.”
These are statements made by
Democrats: Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Kerry, and Bob Casey Jr,
respectively. Our Democratic
“representatives” that have actively tried to hold Bush responsible for his
crimes have been shot down by their own colleagues. When Russ Feingold proposed a mere censure against Bush for illegally
wiretapping without a court order, he only got two of his fellow Democratic
senators” approval, even when polls showed 62% of the country favored the
censure. As Sunsara Taylor states in her
article, Why the Democrats Won’t Stand
and Fight and Why You Must, “even when they sharply disagree, the Democrats
would rather capitulate to the Bush program than to allow the kind of upheaval
that could threaten to destabilize their system.” We cannot rely on such an irresolute sector
of power to end the crimes committed by the Bush Regime.
Today, ending this oppressive
and criminal Regime is more important than ever:
On November
19, 2005, US Marines massacred 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including 5
children, in the town of Haditha. These Marines, nor the command that allowed
for this to happen, are likely to be held responsible for this shameful
atrocity.
Our current
Supreme Court is one anti-choice candidate from being capable of overturning
the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that gave women the right to control their own
reproductive destinies nationwide. As
the current administration continues to hack away at women’s rights, a current
bill facing Senate proposes the criminalization of assisting a teenager in
crossing state lines in search of an abortion.
The right to seek an abortion in another state has become vital in the
wake of recent, unconstitutional challenges to the Roe decision in South Dakota and the closing of the last abortion clinic
in Mississippi.
The recent
violence and aggression against the people of Lebanon
and Palestine has been fueled and funded by the United States
government. Recent sources suggest that
the attacks were planned between top Israeli officials and members of the Bush
administration in a meeting on June 17 and 18 in Beaver Creek, Colorado
prior to the Hezbollah kidnappings of Israeli soldiers. Once Israeli officials heard of the
kidnappings, Israel reacted
in a well-organized and brutal attack on Lebanon
cities, using this kidnapping much like the Bush Regime used 9/11 as
rationalization to invade Iraq. This violence has left over a quarter of
Lebanese civilians displaced and has slaughtered 700 Lebanese (300 children)
and 18 Israelis.
These crimes against human
rights and humanity itself have got to halt before further enduring damage is
done. And we truly cannot wait until
2008 for this Regime to end, nor can we allow its oppressive decrees to
permanently remain in the principles of our way of life.
“Silence and paralysis are NOT
acceptable. That which you will not
RESIST and mobilize to stop, you will learn-or be forced-to accept.”
This statement from the World
Can’t Wait Call to Action basically sums up what needs to be done. If we are to take responsibility for our
rights, we need a massive movement of millions of people saying “No more!” to
this Regime. The right to dissent, to
oppose your government and fight for what’s right, is, in fact, the most
precious right you have, and this right extends far beyond the voting
booths. If we are to be backed by our
representatives, we need to make them see that there are millions of people who
have had enough and are acting for themselves before we will ever get the
attention of our governing bodies. This
is why the World Can’t Wait is calling for you to come out on October 5th
and join our Day of Mass Resistance.
As the World Can’t Wait Call
states, “History is full of examples where people who had right on their side
fought against tremendous odds and were victorious. And it is also full of
examples of people passively hoping to wait it out, only to get swallowed up by
a horror beyond what they ever imagined. The future is unwritten. WHICH ONE WE GET IS UP TO US.”
The World Can’t Wait-Drive
Out the Bush Regime!