- 03 Feb 2006 02:14
#801057
Tomorrow, he was longing for tomorrow, whereas everything in him ought to reject it. That revolt of the flesh is the absurd.
(The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus)
So I created a chapter at my school in an attempt to restart it. The following is a rough draft of our manifesto (I wrote it, they approved it). Please suggest any other things that we should mention in it or whatever.
Students for a Democratic Society
Noah Baron
2005
-
Preamble
We believe that all persons are endowed with a certain human qualities, that among these qualities is an inherent and irrevocable human dignity, a fundamental connect with all other human beings, and even on the most basic level, a compulsion to act in a spirit of brotherhood towards all of mankind. --That to ensure the continuation of these qualities, we must protect our fellow man from harm, deriving our motivation from a sense of justice that has been deeply wounded and our powers from our economic advantages and social privileges.
-
Agenda
A spectre is haunting the children of these United States of America -- the spectre of apathy. All the powers of culture have entered into an unholy alliance to augment this spectre: MTV and Fox, Murdoch and Gates, Rap and Rock ‘n Roll.
There are no longer children of the revolution, nor are there the sons and daughters of liberty, neither are there flower children. Instead of children of the revolution, we now have children of the television. Instead of the sons and daughters of liberty, we now have sons and daughters of reckless materialism. Instead of flower children, we now have children of apathy.
The children of the United States of America are dangerously ignorant of the world that surrounds them. There are college students who do not know what function the Supreme Court serves; there are high school students who do not know the difference between right and wrong, let alone right and left.
Along with this rise of apathy, there has been a rise in hatred, intolerance, injustice, violence, and terror, both foreign and domestic. It is from our knowledge of these horrors, and the possibility of others still, that we derive our sense of urgency.
We have banded together to accomplish our goals of creating a society, if not perfect, then more fair, more just and more equal than that of today. In order to accomplish this, we have resurrected the fist of student radicalism in the form of a new Students for a Democratic Society.
Keeping in mind both the accomplishments and the failings of our predecessors, we are determined to change the world, or, failing that, our communities.
With What We Take Issue
We were born, as all people are, free and innocent into this world.
As we grew, we always had access to food and toys. We grew up, more or less, insulated from a cold and bitter world that sets man against man, sister against sister, and nation against nation.
As we grew older and wiser we increasingly saw the injustices of our world, and our hearts reached out to the poor and the downtrodden. And as we grew older still we began to see those injustices for what they are: systemic.
Our sense of decency has been absolutely and irrevocably violated by the evils of the laissez-faire economy and the apathetic public.
As the student radicals of years past bore witness to the atrocities of segregation and racism, we bear witness to the horrors of unregulated globalization and the proliferation of sweatshops. Our televisions have brought into our homes and into our hearts the appalling results of what happens when we harden our hearts against each other.
Today, our leaders have the power to destroy every city, vaporize every person, and flatten every mountain seven times. The Cold War is over. No longer does Mutually Assured Destruction function as a justification of a nuclear arsenal.
Instead of the threat of an invasion by an army, we face the threat of an invasion by individuals and groups who bear us ill will. These individuals and groups have the capabilities to procure nuclear weapons and detonate them in our cities. What will our weapons of doom be worth then? We have made for ourselves an enemy that cannot be destroyed except by pulling up its roots.
At the same time, however, our government has alienated the international community, feeding international hatred of us, our culture, and everything we stand for. As sympathies poured in from around the world, our nation struck out with violence, like an incompetent and injured bully on the playground. This violence, purportedly to prevent the propagation of international terrorism has achieved only the opposite. Thousands upon thousands have rushed to the banner of radical anti-American terrorism.
It is, therefore, up to the United States to undercut the basis of the success of Islamic Fundamentalism and anti-American terrorism: namely, to offer hope.
As the eye of the average American fixes itself upon the international scene, it has become imperative to remind ourselves of the crises that we face on the domestic scene.
Our schools are under funded, our teachers underpaid, and our students underappreciated. It is the fundamental way in which our schools are organized that has perpetuated the gaping divide betwixt the rich and the poor, the black and the white, the manual laborers and the bosses.
The children of the poor are put at a disadvantage the moment they are born. The public schools in the poor districts lack the funds to provide an adequate education because the taxes provided by the underprivileged who live there are already not enough, and it is far below the minimum needed after they pay for the metal detectors and security personnel. The rich, meanwhile, are endowed with clean schools, good teachers, and new computers.
It is, considering the current price of higher education and the inherent unfairness of the current educational system, not surprising that the once-famous American social mobility has been brought to a standstill.
Values
The phrase "moral values" is a common one tossed about by politicians and the right-wing. The meaning of "moral values" has now become clearly defined in the mind of the American: no same-sex marriages, no abortions, no feminism.
The hijacking of this term cannot go ignored. The mere definition of "moral values" as something conservative and regressive is an insinuation that the left has no moral values. In this section, we aim to combat that insinuation by setting forth our values for the whole world to see.
We believe that all people are born innocent and free. As such, all persons are endowed by their humanity with the right to be treated as their fellows are treated. This includes, but is not limited to, the right to marry, equal pay for women, and equal-opportunity education.
When man is at his poorest he yet retains his body. Neither the state nor other persons have the right to own or tell a man what he can do to or with his body as long as it does not affect others.
We reject the concept of blind obedience, for it is the way toward dictatorship.
Students
Students have played a major role in nearly every radical change that has come about. From the Revolutions of 1848 throughout Europe to Mai 1968 in France to the anti-Sweatshop movement of today, students have been an integral part of mass movements. We have seen the world for what it is, and yet we also see a brighter future. We were once the idealists, seeing the sun rising on mankind, not setting. And that's the way things once were.
The studentry of today has fallen from the great heights that it once reached. The state of the national student body has returned from whence it came. An irrational importance of competition and victory has reared its head once more. With this rise of competition comes the worship of celebrities. The emphasis on material possession, clothing and external appearance has caused the in-school distancing of the poor from the rich and the silent enforcement of the status quo.
At the same time, the high school race to the top is characterized by bitter competition. Success is now defined in terms of standardized testing and honor rolls; failure has been incarnated in the form of nonproficiency. The concept of being academically average has become repugnant and thus begins the never-ending game of King of the Hill. Self-edification and the ability of the human mind to grow and analyze the world around it in a critical and comprehensive way, however, has been conveniently left out of school curricula.
High school students grapple daily with attempts to conform and unrealistic expectations of ultrafitness. The former is the lamentable result of a public school system that fails to recognize the individuality of students and instead employs an educational philosophy similar to that of a factory or slaughterhouse. The latter is derived from a general culture of sex that should be geared to the grown but is instead aimed towards the growing.
Inability to vote has become a justification for political apathy amongst the young. From origins unknown this monster has risen and been abetted by pop culture and its followers in its mission of searching for and destroying radicalism or political involvement in schools.
Society As It Is
Today, we Americans live in an increasingly consumption-oriented and materialist society. The result is that we have put profit before people. With this de-emphasis of our common humanity, our society has become cold and uncaring. Our law enforcement enforces the law with ruthless violence and our criminal justice system lacks basis in any human emotion or sympathy.
There are some who declare that the law is just and fair because it applies equally to all people. Indeed, neither the poor nor the rich are permitted to live under bridges or in the parks. And those without permanent housing – rich and poor alike – cannot vote.
The phrase "tough on crime" is bandied about in political advertisements. The truth of the matter is that politicians are tough on the poor. The man who steals $1,000 from a corporation receives a harsher punishment than the CEO who steals millions from his employees.
Learning from the Past
But even as we dream of the future, we must hearken back to our past and learn from it. The goal of this organization is not to glorify the name of our predecessor, but rather to build upon its ideals and improve upon its methods.
Our discussions will not be cutthroat. Their purpose is not to determine a winner. They are meant to encourage us to question daily our beliefs, and in so doing, make ourselves more knowledgeable. Our discussions are tools that we can use to constantly refine our ideas, for a concept unchallenged is a concept untenable.
We will be tolerant, accepting and democratic, but we will also be organized. We will not permit our organization to be hijacked nor will we allow chaos in our meetings. We oppose unjust exercises of authority, not order.
We will not support or show solidarity with authoritarian regimes, whether they call themselves socialist or otherwise. We cannot condemn the authoritarian policies of one nation and support those of another because the name of oppression has changed. Oppression in the name of God, oppression in the name of equality, oppression in the name of justice – we oppose it all. Oppression in the name of God is ungodly. Oppression in the name of equality is unequal. Oppression in the name of justice is unjust.
We will embrace hope, though not so much as to estrange ourselves from reality.[/quote]
Students for a Democratic Society
Noah Baron
2005
-
Preamble
We believe that all persons are endowed with a certain human qualities, that among these qualities is an inherent and irrevocable human dignity, a fundamental connect with all other human beings, and even on the most basic level, a compulsion to act in a spirit of brotherhood towards all of mankind. --That to ensure the continuation of these qualities, we must protect our fellow man from harm, deriving our motivation from a sense of justice that has been deeply wounded and our powers from our economic advantages and social privileges.
-
Agenda
A spectre is haunting the children of these United States of America -- the spectre of apathy. All the powers of culture have entered into an unholy alliance to augment this spectre: MTV and Fox, Murdoch and Gates, Rap and Rock ‘n Roll.
There are no longer children of the revolution, nor are there the sons and daughters of liberty, neither are there flower children. Instead of children of the revolution, we now have children of the television. Instead of the sons and daughters of liberty, we now have sons and daughters of reckless materialism. Instead of flower children, we now have children of apathy.
The children of the United States of America are dangerously ignorant of the world that surrounds them. There are college students who do not know what function the Supreme Court serves; there are high school students who do not know the difference between right and wrong, let alone right and left.
Along with this rise of apathy, there has been a rise in hatred, intolerance, injustice, violence, and terror, both foreign and domestic. It is from our knowledge of these horrors, and the possibility of others still, that we derive our sense of urgency.
We have banded together to accomplish our goals of creating a society, if not perfect, then more fair, more just and more equal than that of today. In order to accomplish this, we have resurrected the fist of student radicalism in the form of a new Students for a Democratic Society.
Keeping in mind both the accomplishments and the failings of our predecessors, we are determined to change the world, or, failing that, our communities.
With What We Take Issue
We were born, as all people are, free and innocent into this world.
As we grew, we always had access to food and toys. We grew up, more or less, insulated from a cold and bitter world that sets man against man, sister against sister, and nation against nation.
As we grew older and wiser we increasingly saw the injustices of our world, and our hearts reached out to the poor and the downtrodden. And as we grew older still we began to see those injustices for what they are: systemic.
Our sense of decency has been absolutely and irrevocably violated by the evils of the laissez-faire economy and the apathetic public.
As the student radicals of years past bore witness to the atrocities of segregation and racism, we bear witness to the horrors of unregulated globalization and the proliferation of sweatshops. Our televisions have brought into our homes and into our hearts the appalling results of what happens when we harden our hearts against each other.
Today, our leaders have the power to destroy every city, vaporize every person, and flatten every mountain seven times. The Cold War is over. No longer does Mutually Assured Destruction function as a justification of a nuclear arsenal.
Instead of the threat of an invasion by an army, we face the threat of an invasion by individuals and groups who bear us ill will. These individuals and groups have the capabilities to procure nuclear weapons and detonate them in our cities. What will our weapons of doom be worth then? We have made for ourselves an enemy that cannot be destroyed except by pulling up its roots.
At the same time, however, our government has alienated the international community, feeding international hatred of us, our culture, and everything we stand for. As sympathies poured in from around the world, our nation struck out with violence, like an incompetent and injured bully on the playground. This violence, purportedly to prevent the propagation of international terrorism has achieved only the opposite. Thousands upon thousands have rushed to the banner of radical anti-American terrorism.
It is, therefore, up to the United States to undercut the basis of the success of Islamic Fundamentalism and anti-American terrorism: namely, to offer hope.
As the eye of the average American fixes itself upon the international scene, it has become imperative to remind ourselves of the crises that we face on the domestic scene.
Our schools are under funded, our teachers underpaid, and our students underappreciated. It is the fundamental way in which our schools are organized that has perpetuated the gaping divide betwixt the rich and the poor, the black and the white, the manual laborers and the bosses.
The children of the poor are put at a disadvantage the moment they are born. The public schools in the poor districts lack the funds to provide an adequate education because the taxes provided by the underprivileged who live there are already not enough, and it is far below the minimum needed after they pay for the metal detectors and security personnel. The rich, meanwhile, are endowed with clean schools, good teachers, and new computers.
It is, considering the current price of higher education and the inherent unfairness of the current educational system, not surprising that the once-famous American social mobility has been brought to a standstill.
Values
The phrase "moral values" is a common one tossed about by politicians and the right-wing. The meaning of "moral values" has now become clearly defined in the mind of the American: no same-sex marriages, no abortions, no feminism.
The hijacking of this term cannot go ignored. The mere definition of "moral values" as something conservative and regressive is an insinuation that the left has no moral values. In this section, we aim to combat that insinuation by setting forth our values for the whole world to see.
We believe that all people are born innocent and free. As such, all persons are endowed by their humanity with the right to be treated as their fellows are treated. This includes, but is not limited to, the right to marry, equal pay for women, and equal-opportunity education.
When man is at his poorest he yet retains his body. Neither the state nor other persons have the right to own or tell a man what he can do to or with his body as long as it does not affect others.
We reject the concept of blind obedience, for it is the way toward dictatorship.
Students
Students have played a major role in nearly every radical change that has come about. From the Revolutions of 1848 throughout Europe to Mai 1968 in France to the anti-Sweatshop movement of today, students have been an integral part of mass movements. We have seen the world for what it is, and yet we also see a brighter future. We were once the idealists, seeing the sun rising on mankind, not setting. And that's the way things once were.
The studentry of today has fallen from the great heights that it once reached. The state of the national student body has returned from whence it came. An irrational importance of competition and victory has reared its head once more. With this rise of competition comes the worship of celebrities. The emphasis on material possession, clothing and external appearance has caused the in-school distancing of the poor from the rich and the silent enforcement of the status quo.
At the same time, the high school race to the top is characterized by bitter competition. Success is now defined in terms of standardized testing and honor rolls; failure has been incarnated in the form of nonproficiency. The concept of being academically average has become repugnant and thus begins the never-ending game of King of the Hill. Self-edification and the ability of the human mind to grow and analyze the world around it in a critical and comprehensive way, however, has been conveniently left out of school curricula.
High school students grapple daily with attempts to conform and unrealistic expectations of ultrafitness. The former is the lamentable result of a public school system that fails to recognize the individuality of students and instead employs an educational philosophy similar to that of a factory or slaughterhouse. The latter is derived from a general culture of sex that should be geared to the grown but is instead aimed towards the growing.
Inability to vote has become a justification for political apathy amongst the young. From origins unknown this monster has risen and been abetted by pop culture and its followers in its mission of searching for and destroying radicalism or political involvement in schools.
Society As It Is
Today, we Americans live in an increasingly consumption-oriented and materialist society. The result is that we have put profit before people. With this de-emphasis of our common humanity, our society has become cold and uncaring. Our law enforcement enforces the law with ruthless violence and our criminal justice system lacks basis in any human emotion or sympathy.
There are some who declare that the law is just and fair because it applies equally to all people. Indeed, neither the poor nor the rich are permitted to live under bridges or in the parks. And those without permanent housing – rich and poor alike – cannot vote.
The phrase "tough on crime" is bandied about in political advertisements. The truth of the matter is that politicians are tough on the poor. The man who steals $1,000 from a corporation receives a harsher punishment than the CEO who steals millions from his employees.
Learning from the Past
But even as we dream of the future, we must hearken back to our past and learn from it. The goal of this organization is not to glorify the name of our predecessor, but rather to build upon its ideals and improve upon its methods.
Our discussions will not be cutthroat. Their purpose is not to determine a winner. They are meant to encourage us to question daily our beliefs, and in so doing, make ourselves more knowledgeable. Our discussions are tools that we can use to constantly refine our ideas, for a concept unchallenged is a concept untenable.
We will be tolerant, accepting and democratic, but we will also be organized. We will not permit our organization to be hijacked nor will we allow chaos in our meetings. We oppose unjust exercises of authority, not order.
We will not support or show solidarity with authoritarian regimes, whether they call themselves socialist or otherwise. We cannot condemn the authoritarian policies of one nation and support those of another because the name of oppression has changed. Oppression in the name of God, oppression in the name of equality, oppression in the name of justice – we oppose it all. Oppression in the name of God is ungodly. Oppression in the name of equality is unequal. Oppression in the name of justice is unjust.
We will embrace hope, though not so much as to estrange ourselves from reality.[/quote]
Tomorrow, he was longing for tomorrow, whereas everything in him ought to reject it. That revolt of the flesh is the absurd.
(The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus)
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- By litwin