yes we CAN!

We needn't kid ourselves: Barack Obama is the more likely Democratic candidate to win the nomination, and when he does so he is rather likely to win the general election as well, if only because there is such a strong backlash against Republicans. Now, CAN doesn't endorse any politician as a matter of policy, but in an election year it is impossible to be an activist and at the same time ignore the ramification of candidates - especially if one is an antiwar activist.

I wasn't deep in the antiwar scene in 2004, when Kerry was running. I was opposed to the war, of course - I had been from the get-go - but as a Junior in High School, I was simply an individual opposed to the war, not connected with any group. I supported Kerry for the same reason many did - because he wasn't George W. Bush, and because ANYONE was better than Bush.

Unfortunately, this trend was mirrored in the antiwar community. The movement died down to a simmer as the efforts of the politically minded were directed to expelling Bush & co. from office. The student antiwar movement also fell into a lull, proving quite disheartening to many members.

For the antiwar movement on the whole, this is becoming the case once again. MoveOn.org has endorsed Obama for the presidency, and has devoted its efforts to electing him, away from the antiwar movement. Many people, either believing the myth that the "surge" is working or simply trusting the Democrats to get us out of Iraq in 2009, have also dropped out of the antiwar movement. Protests this year - the 5th anniversary of the war - were markedly smaller than they were last year.

However, all this is counter intuitive. If we have learned anything from the 110th Congress, it's that the Democrats - brought into power by a strongly antiwar electorate - has refused to take the steps necessary to bring an end to the war. The Democrats do not, of course, bear sole responsibility for this failure of leadership - the Republicans and the Administration have stonewalled and vetoed every measure to bring the troops home - but the Democrats have also not used their considerable political capital or clout to stand up to the Administration (excluding the current admirable fight they are putting up over the FISA fight), not has the Democrat-controlled 110th Congress used it's power of the purse to cut funding for the war, forcing the President to withdraw troops.

However, 2008 is shaping up to be a different year than 2004. As I've already mentioned, the antiwar movement is definitely taking what seems to be a hiatus - going into it's election year lull. However, on the student front, the antiwar movement is really heating up. CAN is growing at an ever increasing rate, and after during incredibly successful (and incredibly powerful) Winter Soldier testimonies, Iraq Veterans Against the War had so many requests to join that their server couldn't handle the load. Additionally, groups like the RNC Welcoming Committee are gearing up to make sure the war remains in the public eye - and is brought home to average Americans - when the media descends on Minneapolis/St. Paul for the Republican National Convention. While the antiwar movement as a whole might be waning, the student and veteran resistance is on the rise, with little sign of abating.

Thus, the obvious question needs be asked: Why? In a year when the population as a whole cares less about the war than ever before, why is the youth movement picking up steam?

I attribute it to a number of different causes. First, we have had the past three years (since the last presidential election cycle) to build a solid movement. For many in CAN, myself included, the antiwar movement is our first experience with taking part in a movement, much less building one. Here in UIUC, we have already experienced the pitfalls and joys of building a chapter from scratch, and learning as we go. The process creates a very organic and, I hope, democratic structure, but it also takes a lot of work and time before it can get off the ground. In 2004, CAN was much younger than it is now, with much less experience. The antiwar movement in the 1960s was able to draw on the success of the Civil Rights struggle - the modern student antiwar movement has no such recently history from which to build from, and thus we must rely on our own initiative and ideas.

However, this is also a blessing in disguise. It is my firm belief that in a few short years, a number of critical crises will afflict this country, from the environment to renewable energy, from healthcare to education to social security. Each of these will require capable activists to organize the movements around them, and the important building that we do now in the antiwar movement can hopefully prove a useful framework for future student activists. This is the benefit, and the burden which we willingly shoulder, of being on the vanguard of a new generation of activists.

Which brings me to my second point. Why was there no prior movement from which the modern student antiwar movement could draw on? For this, I blame "Generation X", the generation that grew up in the 1980s. They rejected the protests of the previous generation, and are stereotypically thought of as the "Me" generation - more concerned with their own well being than with larger social issues.

This new generation, however, is slowly coming back around to the idea that students and citizens in general can change the world for the better, and that direct actions and protests are an effective way to bring about change. The cause of this change? Frankly, in recent years I think much credit goes to Barack Obama.

Many in the antiwar movement - myself included - disagree with Obama. While he may now claim that he will withdraw troops within 6 months, many people feel that this is simply a ploy to win over primary voters, who typically are thought 0f as firther left than the general populace. Many still in the antiwar movement expect him to change his tune if and when he becomes the nominee for the Democratic Party.

However, Obama does have a very powerful message. His speeches and message of hope resonate with the younger set, and his chant of "Yes, we can" has caught on and resonates across the country and through the packed venues where he delivers his speeches. This message - and his incredibly Kennedyesque charisma - has not only energized students and youth, but has also (possibly subconsciously) put the idea that students can change the world into the minds of the youth. This makes Obama supporters - many of them college students - prime candidates to take the next step and become activists. It is much easier to convince someone to join a movement if they are already coming from a framework that affirms their ability change the world.

As more students flock to Obama's camp, it should be the job of the student antiwar movement to actively court these individuals. As mentioned earlier, CAN supports no candidate, because we believe that anyone opposed to the war - be they far right isolationists or far left pacifists, religious fundamentalists or fervent atheists - is and should be welcome within CAN. Thus, while many of us may reject the cult of Obama as nothing more than a charismatic veneer over what will be effectively "business as usual", we must recognize the incredible opportunity before us, and put our politics aside to work to build the strongest antiwar movement this country has seen since Vietnam.

And although it may not seem like it, we are well on our way there. In 1971, Vietnam Veterans Against the War presented the original Winter Soldier, featuring 100 former soldiers testifying about what they saw and did in Vietnam. By then, America had been fighting fiercely for 7 years (if we use the Gulf of Tonkin incident as a starting point - it should be noted that America had been involved for 4 years prior to that). In 2008, 5 years into the illegal occupation of Iraq, IVAW was able to present the testimony of over 200 soldiers, as well as the testimonies of Iraqi civilians and international journalists.

So take the spirit of Obama's message to heart - not as an ambiguous "Yes we can!" but as a strong and firm "Yes we CAN!"

College Not Combat - Troops Out Now!