The times, they are a'changin' (maybe?)

In response to this: http://blogs.zmag.org/node/2873

Several years ago, a previous antiwar group on the Iowa campus sponsored a debate about the imminent war. The pro-war debater was a student government type who pretty clearly saw defending the indefensible as good preparation for his future as a blowhard politician or Faux News talking head. I happened to be near him when he sat down after his speech, so I asked him brightly, "So, when are you enlisting? Or have you already signed up to go?" He said, with a sheepish smile, "Actually, I have some family members who were in the military and they ask me the same thing. But I'm not going to go into the military. I have other plans for my life." I asked him whether the kids in the military might not have plans for their futures too, for which he didn't have an answer.

I've sometimes gotten angry at the misinformed knee-jerk patriotism or, at best, the apathetic response of some of the UI students I encounter as an antiwar activist. I've heard a lot of explanations for the fact that most of the current antiwar group and its audience at different events have been in their 30s or older. I've seen a lot of handwringing and self-doubt among older members, wondering "what we're doing wrong" to cause students not to be involved and cautioning each other not to...what? Be old? Look old? Early on, I once had to remind my fellow activists that we could speak freely about our failure to attract students, given that there were no students in the room.

This year, however, we are starting to see students getting (and staying) involved and taking on responsibilities in the UI Antiwar Committee. There are still too few, of course, but those who are coming around are serious, disciplined, and reliable. Unlike some students I've met in the past, they are not playing at being activists. They are not doing it as a fashion statement or to be cool. They are doing the footwork, attending university funding meetings, filling out forms, making fliers, making copies, handing out leaflets, staffing literature tables, sitting through UIAC meetings that are sometimes too long, taking minutes, moderating discussions, and coming up with creative, realistic ideas of how to spread our message. Of course there are too few of them. How could a group ever have too *many* of such people?

In short, I think it's possible that we're seeing the very beginning of a turnaround and growing interest in peace activism among students. I was once in a group that spoke about recruiting "the ones and twos" who were willing to listen to new ideas. That's where we are, I think, and thank god it's not still the zeroes.