Two Wars At Once

Printed in the Exponent Campus Newspaper under the title "Two Wars"

By Caleb T. Maupin
Contributing Writer

There is a lot of talk about the war in Iraq and the horrible things that are occurring in the Middle East. The war in Iraq should be ended as soon as possible. But it is not the only war that is going on. Right now in this country, there is another war, a war against the people.

Workers are losing so much. Wages are going down. People are losing their benefits. This year there are record evictions. Countless people are losing their homes due to the trickery of the bankers, and the bad state of the economy. So many jobs are disappearing, and workers are being forced to compete with people in the third world who will work for nearly nothing.
What more, a war against black Americans is taking place. Look at what is happening in Jena, Louisiana. Look at the amount of poverty there is in the inner cities. Look at how often we hear about police brutality and killings of black people.

A war against immigrants is occurring. In an effort to divide us, the media is whipping up anti-immigrant bigotry. They never mention that the reason so many immigrants are coming to this country is because the same corporations that are screwing us, have done horrors to the people of countries like Mexico and El Salvador. They never mention that in Mexico if workers seek a better life through organizing for it, the U.S. backed government is happy to suppress them with sheer brutality.
Gay people continue to be demonized 24 hours a day on “Christian” broadcasts, where Bible thumpers preach that gay people are “sinners” and will “go to hell”.

There is clearly a war against the people going on at the same as the war in Iraq. The big corporations, the people own the banks, factories, and oil wells are supporting the U.S. in dropping explosive and sometimes even chemical bombs in Iraq, at the same time they are dropping economic, racist, anti-immigrant, and homophobic bombs on us.

But we are fighting back. On Sept. 29th, there was a huge march of students, trade unionists, black nationalists, immigrants, and many others demanding “Stop the War at Home and Abroad.” Just like the Iraqis are fighting to win a better life for themselves by throwing the U.S. invaders out of their country, we must fight for ourselves by demanding that the robber barons and greedy exploiters who grip power be put in their place by a strong movement of the people.

I think we can do it. All power to the people!

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF EXPONENT CAMPUS MEDIA