2008 Woodie Awards
Commentary: the reason behind the flyers
Lucia Knoles, Special to Le Provocateur
Issue date: 9/30/04 Section: Lead Stories
- Page 1 of 3 next >
Probably one reason I still remember that class discussion from 2002 is because it's practically the only time I ever allowed current politics come up as a topic in the classroom, but the real reason I remember it is because I was shocked.
As usual, I had begun my Survey in American Literature course by asking students to answer the classic question, "What does it mean to be an American?" Puzzled by the answers I received, I asked why everyone had written that the events of September 11 had given them a strong sense of what it meant to be an American but no one had mentioned the war that we were preparing to launch in Iraq at that time. All but one student in the class of thirty agreed on the explanation: it would be impossible for them to understand war since they had never lived through one, and even if they did it would be impossible to do anything about it. Anyway we were going to win fairly quickly, they said, and so it wouldn't affect their lives.
It is because I disagree with all four of these propositions that I recently put up signs saying: "It's your war too-Are you glad we went?"
Maybe your answer is yes. If so, I disagree with you, but I respect your right to hold that opinion. My concern is not so much with those who disagree with my own opposition to the war but with those who just don't want to think about it.
I believe that as Americans, we can know what's going on, we should know what's going on, it will affect our lives and those of our fellow human beings, and we must do something about it.
Are the issues difficult to understand? Certainly! Is it daunting to think about how to make a difference? Sure. But remember the words of Helen Keller: "I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." Helen Keller didn't let the fact that she was born deaf, mute, and blind from becoming an activist in her own day. What excuse could we possibly have for shirking the challenges that face us today?
As usual, I had begun my Survey in American Literature course by asking students to answer the classic question, "What does it mean to be an American?" Puzzled by the answers I received, I asked why everyone had written that the events of September 11 had given them a strong sense of what it meant to be an American but no one had mentioned the war that we were preparing to launch in Iraq at that time. All but one student in the class of thirty agreed on the explanation: it would be impossible for them to understand war since they had never lived through one, and even if they did it would be impossible to do anything about it. Anyway we were going to win fairly quickly, they said, and so it wouldn't affect their lives.
It is because I disagree with all four of these propositions that I recently put up signs saying: "It's your war too-Are you glad we went?"
Maybe your answer is yes. If so, I disagree with you, but I respect your right to hold that opinion. My concern is not so much with those who disagree with my own opposition to the war but with those who just don't want to think about it.
I believe that as Americans, we can know what's going on, we should know what's going on, it will affect our lives and those of our fellow human beings, and we must do something about it.
Are the issues difficult to understand? Certainly! Is it daunting to think about how to make a difference? Sure. But remember the words of Helen Keller: "I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." Helen Keller didn't let the fact that she was born deaf, mute, and blind from becoming an activist in her own day. What excuse could we possibly have for shirking the challenges that face us today?