Protesters on Campuses Shine a Light
Voices for the Voiceless
Something important is happening.
Look around. Something important is happening. The situation on college campuses across the United States cannot be ignored. The normal operations are disrupted. Graduations have been canceled. Hundreds of protestors have been arrested. Finding a path through the mess is not easy as professors and administrators debate the situation and not just the protest but what is causing the protest.
This war is complicated by hundreds of years of conflict which does not excuse the violence of today. There are sides taken, fighting over who is right and wrong, but I see something else. The protesters have shined a light on the dark side of humanity. Murder, genocide, rape, bombings, attacks, bloodshed, casualties, revenge, hostility, combat, collapse, starvation, hostages, and torture. Words are powerful and these words we turn our back on, close our eyes and tell ourselves it is someone else’s problem, not mine. Read them again. This is happening now, in our time, to our planet and we are asked to look.
Enough
Look at the children whose parents were killed, grandparents killed, siblings killed and their bodies are now missing limbs. Look at the outcome. Look at the devastation. Look at the dark side being illuminated by students and faculty who say ENOUGH. Look until your heart speaks and says ENOUGH.
For students who will not walk across a graduation stage and the families who are disappointed, I am sorry. You deserve your celebration. It is understandable when colleges and universities want to keep safety as a priority yet let us not depress our own freedoms.
Democracy and freedom as part of our daily life in the United States can so easily be taken for granted. Yet our national government is not without its dark side lest anyone forget, for example, Guantanamo Bay still operates.
The Voiceless
What will happen to the children of this war? They cannot speak out for themselves. Their traumas too deep for words imbedded in the body’s injuries. They cannot be held by missing parents and family. The aftermath of war like this requires healing. I see the current protesters giving voice to the voiceless.
Journalists are being imprisoned. Their voices squashed. Pen America writes:
“Today we released our annual Freedom to Write Index, revealing that in 2023, a record 339 writers from 33 countries were unjustly imprisoned, an increase of more than 20% over the previous year. The rise is partly attributable to the adverse impacts of war and conflict on freedom of expression, as the crackdown on dissent in both Israel and Russia placed both countries in the top 10 for the first time.”
Freedom of speech on campuses in the United States is also in jeopardy according to PEN:
“We call on them to redouble their efforts to protect freedom of speech on campus; to engage with protesters and student leaders rather than taking draconian action; to give clear warning of proportional consequences for civil disobedience; and to ensure a safe campus environment for all, including by effectively countering and vehemently condemning antisemitism and anti-Muslim or anti-Arab hate wherever these may occur.”
Hope
We can all hope for the best and highest resolutions to all these conflicts and hope we arise from these ashes as better human beings. We can exercise our freedoms by writing, speaking, reading, protesting peacefully, and becoming educated. Go to school, attend classes, and run for office. Keep walking, running, jumping, swimming and living your life to the fullest because there are so many who cannot. Do it for yourself and do it for them.
