Note On Apathy
By Alex Wolfson

On January 28, 2007, the Washington Post ran an article titled Student Protesters, Fighting Image of Apathy, Call for a Cohesive Movement, by Megan Greenwell. The article discusses the student protesters’ desire to better organize and synthesize the anti-Iraq war movement, to work against the lack of cohesion, especially in comparison to the anti-Vietnam protests in the 60’s and 70’s, and to fight against the identity of apathy so often attached to our MTV Generation Next. This article, and the student leaders' opinions it reproduces, illustrates two widely held false beliefs that are very powerful tools of disenfranchisement, especially for the younger generations. 

I do not believe in the supposed apathy of my generation. In fact, in my daily experiences I can not think of a single person who I have met who I would describe as truly apathetic about the war in Iraq, the Israeli/Palestinian crises, global poverty, etc. The views held are diverse, but the basic human attachment to the largest issues affecting the world are widespread, and span generational, gender, race, and class divides. The constant repetitious labeling of our generation as apathetic is untrue, and has the danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy (although I think this very unlikely). The problem is not apathy but a lack of understanding of how to approach issues that are massively complex, non-responsive to legislative action, and occurring on a global scale. It is true that we may not know what to do to work against global imperialism and widespread suffering, but that is an indication of the size and complexity of the problems, not of a lack of dedication. I see an outstanding amount of compassion, and commitment from a generation who lives in the shadow of the 1960’s and early 70’s peace movements.

Which brings me to the false history (and its disempowering effect) of comparing the anti-Vietnam war protests to the protests against the Iraq war. We are now four years into the war in Iraq. No matter when you place the starting point of the war in Vietnam (which is difficult to do), at four years into the war there was little public interest or outcry. Anti-war sentiment was not even comparable with the size and scope of the protests that occurred against the Iraq war, even before the war actually began (remember the world-wide mass protests in early 2003, in an attempt to stop the oncoming war; nothing like this occurred before the wars in southeast Asia).

Furthermore, it is dangerous to use public protest through demonstrations as the only benchmark for registering antiwar sentiment. Demonstrations and other civil disobedience work undeniably well for internal issues, such as civil rights, labour regulation, discrimination, etc.  For international issues, such as war, the ability of demonstrations to affect change is arguable.

Not only is the general public more engaged with the war in Iraq than the comparable populace during Vietnam, but more importantly, it is a much more knowledgeable public, with an almost infinite amount of further knowledge waiting at its fingertips. This incomparable historical ability to find vast amounts of information at breakneck speed can create confusion, clutter, and displaced energy (such as the already large, and growing, 9/11 conspiracy internet community that unfortunately has attached itself to the anti-war movement). And much of the information available, even through the internet, is largely filtered and controlled by large corporate interests. These are dangers, whose opposition must be part of the anti-Imperialist movement.

That being said, I believe that our tools of opposition to oppressive government and corporate actions are at the sharpest they may ever have been. I see, contrary to what is mostly written in the newspapers, a possibly untapped but undeniably genuine caring from those who I meet, especially in the younger generation. Tapping into this is exactly what The American Idea, in its very small way, will attempt over its lifetime to do. Empower through knowledge a generation already empowered.