The peace rally organized by Campus Progressive Alliance and M.E.Ch.A. that was held on Oct. 25 was aimed at raising awareness and fighting apathy regarding the Iraq War… yes, it still isn’t over. As an organizer of the rally, I know it was the right thing to do and it was a success. Was the rally perfect? No, but what rally or demonstration is?

The main issue brought to light in two State Hornet op-eds was what one of the speakers, Stephen Pearcy, said during the rally. Pearcy stated that American soldiers who fought in Iraq should apologize for being so stupid as to join the military when George W. Bush was president. American soldiers do not have to apologize to anyone. Indeed, it is Bush and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the other architects of the war who need to apologize to them. It is na’ve and just plain wrong to claim that Pearcy’s comments represent the views of anyone or everyone involved in the rally. The focus needs to be on the war and how apathetic Sacramento State students are about it, not on how the rally wasn’t perfect.

CPA and M.E.Ch.A. don’t want any more of our soldiers, Iraqis or other civilians to die because of an illegal war based on lies and deception. We support our soldiers 100 percent. The people claiming we are un-American, anti-soldier, et cetera need to have their heads checked.

Many war supporters have run out of substantive responses and turn to personally attacking and misrepresenting people involved in the peace movement. It is hard to believe that anyone could actually be “anti-peace,” but war supporters don’t focus on the war or why we are there. I never hear them say that peace is a good thing or that they too want the war over with as soon as possible.

We aren’t fighting against an imminent invasion, nor are we fighting them (the terrorists) in Iraq so we don’t have to fight them here. If anything, our presence there is emboldening extremists to launch more terror attacks on U.S. soil. Al Qaida wasn’t in Iraq until the U.S. invaded and toppled the Hussein regime.

It is easy to put your head down and ignore what is going on in Iraq as a lost hope. Sac State students get worked up over student fee increases and California State University executive salaries (and rightfully so), but that activism can’t end at the university gates. An estimated 500 students gathered on the UC Santa Cruz campus on Nov. 7 to protest the building of a Biomedical Sciences Facility that would result in the removal of several redwood trees. That’s about twice as many students than those who attended the peace rally at Sac State. Not to belittle what they did, but how is it that 500 students can demonstrate about trees in Santa Cruz, but months of planning and advertising a war protest can’t get half that number at Sac State?

Thousands of Sac State students graduate and enter the workforce, never giving a second thought to how else they can contribute to society. Activism isn’t something that should be frowned upon or treated as trivial. Living in America gives us the opportunity to express our displeasure with events around us. Failing to take advantage of our ability to not only demonstrate, but our ability to make a difference through activism, makes us ever more dependent on a government which continually fails to represent the needs of its citizens. Fear and apathy are self-perpetuating and Sac State students need to realize maintaining that status quo is turning them into nothing but easily-manipulated drones.

Scott Allen can be reached at [email protected]