Last week, (former) online Mirror subscriber, U.S. Navy Lt. Jamie Nero, was disheartened by “how misguided some of our undergraduate institutions have become.”
Nero pointed to the Nov. 1 Mirror story about the nearly 60 Fairfield community members who participated in an anti-war protest in New York City, calling their spirit “an indicator that the participants lack factual information and a credible position on the war and are simply followers to a ’cause.'”
Regardless of my own political beliefs, I found Lt. Nero’s comments to be condescending to not only my own peers at Fairfield, but also to the millions of educated college students across the country who chose to express their dissent in a nonviolent manner.
Voicing one’s opinion on the war and any other political action does not make that individual a follower to a cause. Nor does the act of protesting make these young Americans “a group of individuals who lack the courage and fortitude to serve their country in a productive capacity.”
Serving one’s country in the military is an honorable decision that requires the utmost respect. Members of the military protect and preserve the very rights that both present and future generations of Americans have come to rely on.
Likewise, protesters are not cowards for deciding not to join the military.
The participants in the Oct. 27 protest were expressing their First Amendment rights by actively exercising their rights to freedom of speech, to assemble peacefully and, indirectly, to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
They have the legal and unalienable freedom to show their dissent toward the failed actions by the Bush administration in Iraq.
The Fairfield students and faculty who participated in the anti-war protest should be commended for the countless hours and immeasurable amounts of effort put into organizing the event. It should also be noted that no one received any form of monetary compensation for participating in the protest, including the professors who marched alongside their students.
These professors joined University students as fellow citizens of America. They did not use the march as a forum to reinforce what Lt. Nero unfortunately believes is the professor’s impressionable “ideology.”
Nationwide, college students are vilified for their lack of participation in elections and for their overall apathy. Yet, when students do decide to take action, narrow-minded individuals believe that these students are only voicing their views because of pressure from authoritative figures, i.e. professors.
Mr. Nero’s assertion – that students are easily impressionable, and perhaps brainwashed, by inaccurate lessons in educational institutions – is an irrational decree. However, people will always be influenced by societal factors beyond educational institutions.
As a student at Fairfield, I am exposed to a range of political and social philosophies. No one has the right to force me to think a certain way. My education and those individuals I have met at Fairfield have allowed me to shape and better found my own ideals.
In short: Students can and do think for themselves. College students consciously question concepts and do not simply accept them at face value.
What credible information was Lt. Nero looking for when he vilified these participants? The fact that, as of yet, the current administration has failed to find WMDs? That groups such as Iraq Veterans Against the War are also calling for an end to the war? Or that as of November 2007, the number of deaths among coalition troops is over 4,000?
I would argue that not challenging these failed ventures of the government would be a gross misuse of our fundamental rights as Americans. The method members of the Fairfield community chose to use was peaceful assembly.
Ask any American if he or she prefers war or peace and the resounding answer would be peace. The actions of the protesters present an alternative way to reclaim and maintain peace, actions that are supported by rationality, intellect and patriotism.
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