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| Lyons addresses activism
during war protests by Marc Lapointe Assistant News One week after seven Wesleyan students were arrested in Hartford during a political protest against war, about 30 members of the University community turned out for Dana Lyons’ talk Thursday focusing on the role of activists during wars. Lyons, an activist and singer/songwriter and native of upstate New York, addressed contemporary issues concerning progressive movements, including environmental and animal rights, social justice and the anti-globalization movement. All issues are fundamentally environmental and should be the primary focus of these progressive movements, according to Lyons. He tackled historical questions as well as those facing activists in the global war against terrorism. “Those who are unpatriotic are those who are trying to shut us up,” Lyons said. “Support our troops fighting right now, but don’t support the policy that’s forcing them to fight.” Lyons urged activists to continue their fights, whatever they may be, even in the face of a crackdown on civil liberties in the United States. “We must fight to protect the right to speak,” Lyons said. “In Chinese, the word for crisis and opportunity are the same. We need to take this time, during this war, to educate ourselves and the public.” This education of the public includes a shift in tactical strategy on the part of the progressive movements, in Lyons’ opinion. Lyons claimed that there has not been a broad enough appeal for various protest causes. Changes in public relations could legitimize these causes in the mind of the public, Lyons said. “I think that in particular, the use of the American flag could work to our advantage,” Lyons said. “I believe that the flag should represent something good, things that our country have achieved like freedoms of speech, the presses, religion and habeas corpus.” Tim Feeley ’04 disagreed with Lyons, citing the flag’s historical use as a propaganda device. “That’s all the flag is, an Orwellian instrument to cram patriotism down the throat of the public,” Feeley said. “The wise move would be to introduce new kinds of symbols, something that would appeal to the TV generation like a cartoon character or something.” Other students who attended the event thought Lyons made excellent points and offered a new perspective on activism. “It’s not always easy for a progressive movement to have an objective view of itself,” said Marisa Zuckerman ’04. “But self-criticism is the most important thing in maintaining a movement. As circumstances evolve, so should tactics.” Lyons reserved some of his harshest criticism for the public school system, which he saw as instrumental in raising unconcerned and uninformed generations. “Our education system glosses over women’s suffrage, Native American struggles, and anti-war movement with the exception of protests against the Vietnam War,” Lyons said. “We as Americans, then, don’t know what our government is doing.” The key to taking back what poor education denies us, Lyons said, is effective political activism. “Activism, though it’s a buzzword, makes or breaks a democracy,” Lyons said. “If you do not exercise and demand your rights you will lose them.” Matt Burton ’04 concurred with these sentiments and particularly agreed with the failure of the public school system. “Basically, I didn’t learn any history worth its weight in paper in high school,” Burton said. “For the rest of my life I’m going to have to attempt to reeducate myself. I’ve found that alternative sources of information, which I find from activist websites and in their literature, are a great source of exactly what I need.” Lyons’ afternoon lecture was followed by an evening performance of his own musical works. |
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