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Kristin Beck writes: “When we begin to separate, to see the government not of ourselves, but of some ruling other . . . we threaten to head down a very treacherous path.”
No, we don’t. We begin to take the more liberating path of dealing with reality-something higher education is supposed to foster.
Refusing to recognize, for example, that the invasion and occupation of Iraq was planned by a handful of elites to advance not democracy but American empire is what lands you in a bad place. The people of the world NEED to see us declaring “I don’t want any part of this.” It’s perfectly acceptable to disassociate ourselves from “our” government and (at the same time) actively resist its policies.
Are “we” the ones currently planning a possible military attack on Iran, complete with floating the idea in major journals and positioning warships near its borders, or are they?
Beck contends we’re nearly as guilty as the ruling class because “we voted for them.” After the fraud of the 2000 (and likely 2004) elections was exposed by various independent journalists, how could she still view this government as by, of and for the people?
Far too many Germans failed to effectively delineate between themselves and the Nazis in order to oppose them, and the irony is that history has rightfully judged them to be complicit with crimes against humanity.
Beck’s political prescriptions bring to mind so many gimmicks peddled by corporations trying to appear “green,” for example. While their P.R. firms claim, “we’re all equally responsible for global warming, so do your part and buy better light bulbs!,” the biggest polluters absolve themselves of responsibility.
She goes as far as to say that “the U.S. is the single biggest fan of democracy that ever existed.” Has this DWA student overlooked the brutal U.S.-sponsored coups and invasions in places from the Phillipines to Central America to the Middle East? Is she describing a country that recently acquitted the cops who pumped 50 bullets through unarmed Sean Bell’s body? Or the society that now practices legalized torture? It’s also curious how the “freest” country boasts the world’s highest incarceration rate of 2.3 million-mostly Blacks and Latinos for non-violent offenses.
Beck laments that an “us vs. them mentality challenges the very foundations on which this country was built.” Like genocide and slavery? I most certainly hope “tolerant” Oxy students would challenge those very foundations, rather than clutch them so stubbornly.
Finally, Beck panicks, “What is the next step if we begin to believe that our government is not accountable to us?” Even the slaveholding framers of the Constitution had an answer to that one. Beck might consult her copy for details. My reply would be: come to grips with it! Figure out why and fight to change it thoroughly. It sure beats living in the matrix.
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