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OPINION
| UPDATED JAN. 24
Betraying the Silence
Protesters honor Martin Luther
King Jr. by speaking up.
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| The Shorthorn: David DeGrand |
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An estimated 500,000 protesters were in
Washington, D.C., last weekend. At the same time 200,000 gathered
in San Francisco. Protesters from all over the world — Japan,
Ireland, Egypt, Spain, Argentina, South Africa, Jordan, Belgium,
Syria, France, China, Russia, Germany and Britain — united
to form one voice against the war on Iraq.
Without individuals combining their energy to form a mass of shared
political thought, the government would go unchecked. Political
activism is necessary because the only alternative is to do nothing.
The American public lies to itself through its own silence. Like
the Rev. Jesse Jackson said, “Silence is betrayal.”
The United States of America knows silence all too well. The U.S.
government has been silent when it is responsible for crimes against
humanity with the economic, medicinal and military sanctions enforced
on Iraq since the Gulf War. Because of this, doctors in Iraqi hospitals
are forced to choose among newborn babies who have the highest chance
of survival. How often does that happen in American hospitals?
The American government’s silence about the use of toxic waste,
or depleted uranium-238, in ammunition shell casings is a betrayal.
Not telling soldiers about the physical and biological consequences
of using such weaponry betrays their service to the country. Thousands
of Gulf War veterans have died because of its use. Thousands more
have applied for disability. Iraqi children continue to be born
with cancer resulting from the leftover waste from the last war
for oil. Spending billions of dollars on military actions when people
here cannot feed their families is betrayal.
But things change.
If you have not seen 500,000 people gathered peacefully in an area,
I can only describe it as beautiful.
We celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when we gather in the fields
in front of the Washington Memorial. We flood D.C. with protesters,
combining unity with warm hearts that resist 20-degree weather.
People remember Dr. King and are politically active because not
enough has changed since he marched through the same streets we
do now. Addressing the rally, the Rev. Al Sharpton said, “Bush
hung a picture of Dr. King in his office. He needs to hang his words.”
There are no massive global demonstrations in favor of war with
Iraq. Five hundred thousand people do not gather in the streets
of Washington, D.C., to show support for the government and its
terroristic history. Instead of uniting in the name of peace, five
individuals from the Republican Student Alliance wait for marchers
to pass so they can yell obscenities from their high-rise apartment
complex in downtown. They hold up signs that read “Go home
hippies,” knowing their interests are represented in this authoritarian
government.
We gather in protest because we have to. We have to because our
leaders do not listen to one voice.
Dr. King would be proud of the actions taken globally Saturday.
Alive, he would have been there. For me, he was there.
— John Dickson is a contributor to The Shorthorn and a journalism
junior.
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