Below the fold is the referendum my college community passed on the Iraq war. I take a sad pride in the accuracy of the predictions, having helped pass this referendum. It did not pass without debate and some raw nerves. Times like this, 10yrs later makes one reflects on who's been on the right side of history and who has not. So many voices were against this war, but they were effectively marginalized. Now that it is indisputably clear how right they were, it is that much more upsetting that they remain marginalized.
Referendum passed by the Antioch Community on March 4, 2003 OPPOSING THE WAR ON IRAQ
As people in a nation whose government has in the past chosen violence over diplomacy, secrecy over public discourse and fear over understanding, we are deeply saddened and angered that the call to war has been made in such haste. As the hundreds of millions who share our sentiments around the United States and around the world have already stated, we, the members of Antioch College, declare that we will not support a war without boundaries, without rationality and ultimately without just cause. This declaration is a plea for international diplomacy and due process over unwarranted bloodshed and the fervent rush to war with Iraq.
A pre-emptive strike against Iraq will not protect our national security, but may, in fact, threaten it.
The Bush Administration has failed to present irrefutable evidence of an imminent danger to our national security.
Waging war against Iraq without United Nations consent violates International law.
Given the current domestic economic situation, we believe that the funds allocated toward a war effort would be better spent on education, housing, health care, job training, and renewable energy.
Due to the inevitable effects of war: loss of civilian life, destruction of infrastructure, displacement of peoples, and environmental devastation; all avenues to a peaceful resolution should be seriously pursued to avoid armed conflict. A pre-emptive war and a regime change will only serve to destabilize the region.
Given that a disproportionate percentage of the U.S. armed forces are working-class and people of color, the burden of war will rest unjustly on their shoulders.
The continued bombing and economic sanctions have primarily impacted the civilians of Iraq; another war will further deprive the Iraqi people of their basic human rights.
We believe that American interests as defined by the Bush Administration are not synonymous with the public interests. The true beneficiaries of this war will be the few privileged enough to shape the consequences.
Let this declaration not stand as the end to discussion and deliberation, rather, let it be an invitation to further debate within our campus and our country. Education only happens through discourse; therefore we welcome all who wish to take part in the larger conversation.
"Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen." - Horace Mann