Respect And Appreciate Our Local Activists

Opinion

By Rocky Boschert

Every Wednesday night at 6 PM a group of anti-war activists get together at the Square in San Marcos to protest the continuing occupation of Iraq. This is the Iraq occupation that originated with the 2003 invasion that was sold to the American people using propaganda, false association and misinformation. The San Marcos Iraq war protesters have been out on the Square every Wednesday night since early 2003.

It is commendable how this small group of persistent anti-Iraq war activists get out there every Wednesday night amid both honks of support and verbal abuse of disapproval. I remember the years during the Vietnam War that I did the same thing, only with less energy and with not the purest of motives.

It is important to understand that today there is a large part of the American population which lives and thrives just outside the system, sort of hidden activists if you will. The San Marcos Iraq war protesters are part of this American phenomenon.

By definition, these “clandestine” American activists generally don’t believe what the government tells them, and they don’t automatically accept what doesn’t fit into their own thoughtful sense of right and wrong. They live their lives with the realization that most greed is ultimately meaningless, that most war and violence are hopeless responses to hate and vengeance, and they believe all living things have rights and deserve respect.

During the last few decades, these covert American activists have been called by other names, generally by the people the activists are targeting. Here are some of the labels they endure:

Dissidents, revolutionaries, rebels, lefties, commies, advocates, liberals, constitutionalists, artists, intellectuals, labor organizers, home schoolers, libertarians, alternative educators, multi-culturalists, free jazzers, rock and rollers, muckrackers, unionists, community organizers, demonstrators, corporate whistle blowers, progressives, vegans, vegetarians, tree huggers, environmentalists, trial lawyers, radicals, traitors, and troublemakers, among others.

For the most part, these activists primarily seek one thing – justice. Not the law, mind you, but justice. And they seek justice for all, not just for the privileged and the educated.

Today, it seems activism is tolerated as long as it doesn’t interfere with our adult toys, our big houses, our Cancun vacations, and our sports manias. Yet whether we are talking about today’s eco-activists, labor activists, consumer activists, political activists, investor activists, anti-globalization activists, pro-choice or pro-life activists, veterans’ activists, minority activists, or community activists -- activism should be revered as a healthy and necessary American pursuit.

Speaking to their courage, activists stand up and risk their livelihood and sometimes their lives when everyone else is too scared or too beaten down by the system to speak out. When America starts chastising our “activists," it is a sign America has lost its soul. When a majority of Americans think activism should be outlawed, we are no longer a democracy.

So the next time your drive by those “kooky” anti-war activists at the Square in San Marcos some Wednesday evening, just remember they are the ones who indirectly warned you back in 2003 about $4.00 a gallon gasoline, when Halliburton’s stock price was $10.00 a share on the eve of the Iraq invasion. As of this writing, Halliburton’s stock price is $49.83, almost 400% higher. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

To me, in the end, the San Marcos Iraq war protesters are also American heroes. They are telling us what we are afraid to admit: Because of fear we allowed ourselves as citizens to be duped. Five years later almost 4100 American soldiers have died and over 25,000 Americans have been maimed. Yes, we acquiesced to the Pentagon economy and its war advertising campaign.

We should thank the San Marcos Iraq war protesters for their love of America as well.

Rocky Boschert has resided in Wimberley since 1993. He currently serves as board president of the Katherine Anne Porter School (KAPS) in Wimberley. Mr. Boschert owns and manages Arrowhead Asset Management.