Humans are obedient creatures. If you hand a friend something, they will take it even if it is a piece of trash. Then they’ll say, “I don’t want this!” We like to do what is expected. A funny thing about being an American, is that we should be expected to question and to challenge-because of our often declared love of independence and freedom-yet the majority of us succumb to inertia and simply absorb the stories told to us on TV.

Thomas Jefferson said once, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” In other words, we have to work to maintain our freedom. As students we must ask whether the policies passed on campus are beneficial for the students and faculty. We must challenge our professors if they are unfair in their grading practices. We have the privilege knowledge and time to discuss ideas. We hold some responsibility for questioning. Martin Luther King, Jr. understood this responsibility when he spoke out against the Vietnam War, stating, “I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours.”

I attended a 12-hour, dusk-till-dawn peace vigil last week on Gandhi’s birthday. Over a thousand people, from age one to age 85 showed up-and more than a 100 stayed all night-sacrificing their sleep, their paychecks, and their usual routine to make a stance against aggressive behaviors. I was amazed how many people, of a small town of 3000, were willing to rebel convention to make a stance.

Howard Zinn, perhaps the most rebellious historian, notes on our general apathy. “Rebellion is only an occasional reaction to suffering in human history; we have infinitely more instances of submission to authority…. Historically, the most terrible things- war, genocide and slavery- have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience.”

Sacramento State has had a number of disobedient folks making a stance. Last spring the Muslim Student Association staged a few protests on campus. Nina Shoman and Basma Marmosh marched at the state capitol last year opposing Israeli force upon Palestine. CSUS faculty, Jeff Lustig, Linda Current and Jim Chopyak California Faculty Association members were instrumental in last year’s demonstration at the capitol about faculty compensation. Arline Prigoff, Dave Urman, Benazir Bath, and Veronica Lerma all protested violence in Afghanistan.Alicia Romero, Micheyl Gardner are some of those who protested the M-W-F proposal in president Gerth’s office.

And while they took quite a bit of heat, anti-abortion protestors were brave enough to get up and be vocal about their views on campus.

Not usually seen as a radical action, voting while young is pretty rare. The school and ASI are promoting a register to vote drive. ASI hopes to get 2003 new voters before the October 21 deadline to vote in the November gubernatorial elections. From last week’s drive, ASI registered over 500 students. In these days of low voter turn out, voting has become somewhat of a rebellion in of its self.

The U.S. is dependent upon insurgents. It is the few challenging people that change consciousness. We must debate about issues, or we are not truly free. Democracy demands this of us.