vision2020@moscow.com: Notes from Boxland
Notes from Boxland
Jo Williams (tajs@potlatch.com)
Fri, 15 May 1998 07:13:09 -0700
Visionaries,
In case you missed it, there was a great 'Letter to the Editor' in
Wednesday's Daily News. David Mendenhall's valiant defense of a student's
"...license to experiment, and a God-given right to protest."
Since I've stayed long in boxland, my initial response of "Right On,
Dave" was at war with my concern for those police officers injured in the
now infamous WSU riots. Good men and women, I take nothing away from
them.
But when I pushed at the box flap and peeked over the cardboard edge, I
saw my own reflection in a mirror.
For the past two weeks, The phrase 'personal responsibility' has been
thrown at those WSU students with roughly the force of a Crusader's
catapult. And with similar one-sided righteousness.
Personal responsibility? Where were we when the federal government
forced 50 states to adopt a drinking age of 21? We rail against this
federal blackmail and then pop back down in our safe little boxes,
silently accepting what we think we cannot change.
Next year when we have to give our social security numbers to get a
fishing license, hunting license, driver's license, we will all line up to
silently obey. No burning of licenses in protest, no demonstrations, no
protest at yet another federal mandate.
In ten years, when there are cameras on every street corner, when
everyone's email is monitored for 'political content' , when your cookie
record of web site visits is examined by authorities or sold to mass
marketers, we'll forget that we said nothing when a local professor was
brought before the thought police for daring to express his views on a
local bond issue. Who had time to question candidates on their views
about Net privacy, about decryption technology. But hey, we saved all
those teens from pornography. It was worth it, wasn't it? Wasn't it.
Many years ago when I voiced the opinion in a college classroom that a
law was "wrong", my professor said something along the lines of ' if you
can't articulate WHY it's wrong, your argument is meaningless'. Like me,
those WSU students may not have been able to argue effectively as to what
exactly is wrong. But like a Supreme Court Justice (also at a loss for
articulation), they know it when they see it.
We may applaud students in Indonesia for rioting and looting- we may
applaud rebels in Mexico. We honor our own rebellious founding
fathers/mothers. Unjust/corrupt government may finally demand such a
response. I see WSU students rebelling against that which leads to unjust
and corrupt government-- our silence.
The students and the police were both victims. Our victims. Onlookers
do contribute to a mob mentality. When it counted, we were all onlookers.
Jo Williams tajs@potlatch.com
electronic afterthought; who monitors Governor Batt's email? Who should?
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