War In My Time
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By Willie Christopher Tucker
Bio/Address
In this age of Hip-Hop culture,
capitalist corruption and American military aggression in the Middle East,
humanity finds itself desperately under the auspices of yet another imminent
prospect of war. We find ourselves being squeezed in the grips of a resurrected
form of oppression and tyranny that threatens world peace and degenerates the
very structure of civilization.
America,
with its majesty and its glory, now stands poised in our time, to disrupt,
corrupt and dismantle, not only our constitutional freedoms in the land
"Where the Eagle Flies", but it also hastens to threaten the freedoms
of sovereign nations abroad. Recently, actress Susan Sarandon courageously spoke
out against this administration’s reign of terror over America's
citizens—she did so under the real threat of being labeled a subversive, a
traitor. But as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "... Our silence is
betrayal."
Strength
definitely lies in numbers. The Hip-Hop culture is an enormous source of
untapped power. It is highly exploited because of its overwhelming popularity
and marketability. It sells. If mobilized properly into a political force, the
youth or Rap generation, can and will make a significant impact on our country's
future elections and the youth movements around the world. The Rap culture is
global. It has transcended the race barrier. This fact cannot be ignored. The
potential for enormous change is there. The enthusiasm is there-the capital, the
oneness that seems to unite this segment of the world community is there.
However, still the question remains, how do you mobilize their voices and voting
strength into an instrument that will guarantee transference of power in the US
and abroad? This transference of power that I speak of would include changes in
the political arena (length of terms in office), industry and the redistribution
of the wealth, and a workable social welfare system—a system that doesn't
unfairly criminalize the poor.
Corporate
corruption, in the year 2002, made a laughing stock of the United States'
political system, our financial markets and our government leaders. Big
corporations (who shall remain nameless), regularly made sizable contributions
to politicians (who also shall remain nameless), in what is politically
correctly known as lobbying. However, to the nonprofessionals of our society and
in the Deep South, we just call it, "greasing a few hands." Several of
these corporate CEOs were involved in misconduct (cooking the books), which
caused their shareholders to lose billions of dollars. Many of these businesses
eventually went bankrupt and there was a momentary media circus that portrayed
some of the CEOs as criminals. Surely not, after all, they are the rich and
affluent, who undoubtedly had "powerful" friends in Washington (get
it?) Who can you trust if you can't put your faith in Wall Street?
As I write this essay, American war machines are
being deployed (Over 100,000 troops) to the Middle East in preparation to fight.
They are being deployed in what will undoubtedly be a bloody conflict, which
will cause irreplaceable loss of human life. The war machine is on the move,
while the machine that drives social progress, racial equality and moral
responsibility stands idle.
The
US stands ready to force its will upon the world, when it is clear that our
present government isn't living up to the very principles and ideals the
Founding Fathers held so dear. We have problems in our own backyard. We have
rights. Every man, woman and child has rights—however little, but we have
rights. One in particular, is the right to be free of a government that no
longer serves the collective will of the people.
In
post 9/11 America, the people are waking up to a grave unreality. New questions
have presented themselves to the masses, but because of unprecedented
Legislative controls, governmental propaganda and media skewing of the facts; it
may take years to answer these questions—if they are ever answered at all.
Questions such as: "Why are we talking about preemptive war in the 21st
century?" "Why are our civil liberties under attack?" "Why
is abject poverty so closely juxtaposed to great wealth in our country?"
These are just a few of the many questions that should be answered. In the
meantime, while we're ''waiting" on a response, the present
Administration is inducing an opiate like silence amongst the Democrats—though
not everyone is in a stupor — Germany, France and Russia in particular.
However, that is another story.
"We
the People" have been compromised! The voices in opposition to war in
our time can no longer afford to falter, nor can we stand by idly
while those who would wage war in our name do so with the consent of our
silence. It is inherent of lovers of peace and tranquility to organize and equip
themselves for a revolution — a revolution based on integrity and good sound
values. In this form of opposing tyranny, those united in the human cause will
know no racial, religious, or cultural distinction. Apathy must not be the
hallmark of the revolutionary-for-world-peace. Not standing against the war
machine lays the foundation to great atrocities and inhumane indignities against
mankind.
Have
we not learned anything from history? America, on its present course, is sure to
meet with disintegration, as did the once powerful and glorious Roman Empire
under Constantine. Constantine, having embraced Christianity, hoped, in what was
called a "modern experiment,” to undertake the responsibility to civilize
the Barbarians through conquest. In the Romans’ vain attempt to
maintain this operation, their armies were thinly stretched to many lands (at
great expense) causing commerce to
decay and local governments to become paralyzed. ?Raising taxes only exacerbated
their problems and Roman military, economic and political hegemony fell into
ruin. Many parallels can be drawn between "Bush Empire's"
psychological war against Iraq and the archaic Roman society. One distinct
parallel in particular is their Imperialist aspirations.
The
American people must speak out now! Shout in the streets, join hands and put
into action the principles of nonviolent protest. March against the legacy of
war! March valiantly into history as a people who did not "stand
still" while human rights and world peace were under attack. Shout in the
streets! Resist, it is your right! It is your responsibility to seize power from
elected officials on poll day — especially from those who rule without wisdom
or compassion. Seize power from these individuals for they no longer recognize
even the most fundamental of our democratic ideals.
Perhaps,
in an age where yet another war threatens the very survival of humanity, we
should reflect on the past and listen intently to the teachings of those who
have come before us. Perchance they knew better in some instances. This is
unequivocally demonstrated in Dr. Martin Luther King's 1963 "I Have a
Dream" speech. He challenged America to live out the ideals of the
Declaration of Independence, which states, ”All men are created
equal." Not just equal in times of peace, but also equal in times of
dispute and especially, in our time, when the prospect of war is great.
01/16/03