Andrew Rosenthal’s challenge to the “Iraq War
Generation” in his Editorial
Observer piece
edition of the New York Times deserves a response, not just in a letter to the
editor, but on the campuses, and, above all, in the streets which he so
correctly points out have “gone silent”.
Rosenthal describes his recent experience at a Neil Young
concert:
The audience rose for Neil Young’s blast at George Bush,
“Let’s Impeach the President,” and sang the words displayed on a huge
TV screen, even the 20-something in front of us who had been text-messaging
throughout the concert. That same screen also displayed thumbnail photos of
slain soldiers while a counter ran up the most recent toll. It takes longer
than you might think to count to 2,600.
It was a surprisingly political moment for a rock concert in
2006. But when those four men sang their protest songs four decades ago, their
lyrics echoed and personified a powerful political movement sweeping America.
Now they are entertainment, something to leave behind in the concert hall.
And issues a challenge to today’s college students:
When you hear Young and Company sing of “four dead in Ohio,” their Kent
State anthem, it’s hard
to imagine anyone on today’s campuses willing to face armed troops. Is there
anything they care about that much?…
The pressure to be silent is great. This week, Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld compared critics of Mr. Bush’s Iraq policy to those who appeased
Adolf Hitler. And antiwar protesters are told they’re un-American, cowardly and
lending aid and comfort to terrorists.
But in the 1960’s and 1970’s, antiwar protesters were told
they were un-American, cowardly and lending aid and comfort to Communists.
Then, the personal and national cost of war grew so great that public outrage
drowned out this sort of propaganda. Now, people find protesters vaguely
embarrassing and don’t want to make too much noise. Outside the concert hall, a
soldier who served in Iraq
and now opposes the war said he wished Neil Young could be more “subtle.”
Mr. Young’s call for impeachment is over the top, and it’s
certainly not subtle. But the anti-Vietnam protesters were not exactly masters of
subtlety either. Bloggers say there is an antiwar movement online. Perhaps, but
it takes crowds to get America’s
attention. Just look at the immigration debate.
The noisy, annoying, unsubtle leaders of the protest lent
courage to the rest of us to cut school and march in a few rallies.
If
you agree with the crying need to stop the crimes of the Bush regime, no matter
what the sacrifice, then October 5th is the day to answer
Rosenthal’s challenge. That day, people
will take off work, take off school, and take to the streets with a not so
subtle message: “The World Can’t Wait! Drive Out the Bush
Regime!” Check out www.worldcantwait.org to for more
info.
“The
pressure to remain silent is great.” But the need to speak out is even
greater.