We Must Name the System

This is a re-enmcatment of a historic speech given by Paul Potter, President of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the April 17, 1965 March on Washington against the war in Viet Nam. It is an important speech that still raises provocative questions even for anti-war activists.

The You Tube clip is just the first few minutes of the speech. You can view the full version here.

While Potter calls for "naming the system" he doesn't actually do it himself. Nonetheless he challenges the liberal faith in the fundamental goodness of US foreign policy and poses concretely the question of what iot will actually take to stop the war. This should be a good tonic for those here who still believe that electing more Dems in 2008 will bring an end to this war. It will take much much more than that. Potter's speech is useful in orienting us towards what it will take.

I'd be very interested in what other Kossacks think of this speech, particularly any who remember it from when it occurred or who read it in pamphlet form as it circulated among a generation of young acticists who would soon turn the country upside down in order to stop the war.