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Police Attack at WEF Protest in New York 2002
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"Something's wrong." That is the only possible conclusion we can make when we think about recent events. We organized mass rallies, neighborhood and school vigils, speak outs, and cultural events, the largest student strike in our country's history, and we proved that the majority of youth in this country opposed Bush's war plans.
Yet, when all was said and done, Bush still invaded Iraq. In a few short weeks the military dropped thousands of bombs and killed hundreds of innocent Iraqi's. Over 100 American troops also died needlessly. Power plants, water resources, schools, hospitals, homes, and historic sites were leveled. The US government removed a horrendous dictator, who they trained, and replaced him with an American general as governor. There have already been many protests and mass demonstrations organized by Iraqi citizens, demanding the right to form their own government without interference. Our military has responded with mass arrests of Iraqis and by firing into crowds killing protestors. An invading army never brings democracy, and Iraq is just one more example of this.
The Bush government is busy oppressing people all around the world. Through "Plan Columbia" our money is being spent to kill Columbians and their leaders in struggle. In Palestine the Israeli government is using millions of US aid dollars to kill hundreds of innocent Palestinian men, women, and children. Bush even blackmailed the Palestinian authority in order to get the Prime Minister he wanted to get appointed, ignoring the fact that Arafat was elected by popular vote. Bush of course knows a lot about being appointed to office, as he himself was not elected president of the US.
Here at home we are also under attack. Bush's budget doesn't have money for education, jobs, or people's social programs. As Tupac said, "they got money for war, but can't feed the poor." In the US we are faced with an economic crisis created not by 9/11 but by corporate America, Bush, and his supporters.
We are facing tuition increases and the elimination of Affirmative Action; cuts to job programs continue as unemployment skyrockets. Hospitals are being forced to cut back and close as uninsured youth die in the streets. Mass layoffs of public employees are announced as our cities crumble before our eyes. For years it's been easier to get into jail or the military than to go to college. Young worker's rights are constantly under attack as Bush's labor department tries to erase all the workers' rights that our people struggled for years to win with their sweat and blood.
While some may feel frustrated and ask, "What was the point of all the protests and strikes?" The point is that although we weren't able to prevent this war, it is not the end of the peace movement. We must recognize that for the first time in our history the people were able to delay a war for an extended amount of time. This was due to international pressure, and our own people's struggle against the war in solidarity with the people of the world. This shows that our struggle was powerful, and if we continue the movement we may prevent the next war, and turn around Bush's budget and attacks on our people.
Many know something is wrong, they don't know exactly what it is. This is a big part of the frustration that leads some to give up the struggle. In the Young Communist League we have an advantage, we know exactly what's wrong, and it's called capitalism.
Capitalism is the system that controls how our country is run. Under capitalism the government's job is to make sure that the rich get richer, and corporations get bigger. War is one of the ways capitalism does that. They take our money away from us and spend it on bombs and tanks, making the rich people who own companies that make weapons richer. Capitalism makes wars to steal natural resources and land from other countries, and then gives them away to big business, just like they're doing in Iraq right now. Capitalism also is the reason we have budget cuts, police brutality, unemployment and racism- because the capitalist system is not meant to take care of the people's needs. Capitalists only care about having workers so that they can line the companies' pockets. Even though workers make everything, capitalists don't want to give workers one more penny than they have to- through wages or taxes.
Young Communists know what's wrong, but that alone doesn't give us the advantage in struggle. Our advantage is that we know how to struggle, and eventually change what's wrong. We know that this is a long-term struggle, because it's not about any one issue, it's about the whole system that oppresses us. We know that while we might lose one battle or another, the more we struggle the stronger we get. The stronger we get the more battles we win. The more battles we win the closer we get to ending capitalism and building socialism.
Under socialism, workers will run the businesses and factories, students will have a real voice in how the educational system is run, and the government will fight racism, sexism, and homophobia. We know the best way to struggle and the only way to win is to build broad unity. We must unite all those who are hurt by Bush and the capitalist system, and that's the majority of the American people. Unity is our biggest weapon, and that is why capitalism's most dangerous weapons are racism, sexism, and homophobia- because they divide the people. As communists we know that when we build coalitions led by labor and workers, people of color, women, youth and students, and all those oppressed we have the strength to defeat Bush and capitalism. If you know that something's wrong, and you want to change that, then you should be down with us.
Adanjesus Marin, a YCL National Coordinator, originally from
San Antonio, TX
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Dynamic Magazine
