For this week’s Sunday Issue, we invite you to “Sound Off” on peaceful protests. Specifically, is dissent a threat to national security in time of war?



By Mary Spicer

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

Jessica Sarkis had a question: “Is dissent a threat to national security in time of war?”

In an effort to find an answer, the Allegheny College senior organized a public discussion featuring a panel of speakers with views on both sides of the question. The bottom line, according to participants at the recent gathering at Ford Chapel on the Allegheny campus, is that there is apparently no simple answer.

The session, inspired by a class Sarkis is taking this semester titled “Americans, Christianity and Social Justice,” started with a screening of “Blowing in the Wind,” a documentary video she created during her junior year that briefly outlined the series of local confrontations that have captured the public’s attention.

The roots of the ongoing local discussion on dissent can be traced back to the first Saturday after the 2004 presidential election, Meadville resident Jan Hyatt explained during the video presentation. A group of local women, taking issue with a post-election statement by President George W. Bush that his re-election represented a mandate for the war in Iraq, organized a gathering at Meadville’s Diamond Park.

The model for the group was Israeli Jewish women who came together in the late 1980s to protest the building of Israeli settlements on the Golan Heights. Their approach was to stand together in public places, often at busy intersections. Known as Women in Black because of the color of the garments they wore, many carried signs calling on Israeli leaders to end the occupation. In Meadville, Women in Black display small white flags — each one representing a Pennsylvania soldier who has died during the Iraq war.

In April 2007, a confrontation between a local Women in Black participant and a Townville resident whose husband was on his third tour of Iraq at the time inspired a number of veterans to start to gather in counter-protest.



Moving the debate off the street

In “Blowing in the Wind,” two local Vietnam-era veterans took opposing sides.

According to Phil Davis, commander of the Coming Home Association Post and a member of Veterans of Vietnam War Post 52, “the thing to do is support the president and quit protesting.”

Sanford Kelson, president of the Crawford County chapter of Veterans for Peace, argued that “people don’t join the military to go to a war where their leaders have lied to them about what it’s about.” As a result, according to Kelson, “It’s important for the whole country to rise up and be counted.”

During the panel discussion, Davis and Kelson again took very different positions on the issue.

For Kelson, dissent in a time of war is nothing less than a moral obligation for citizens if they believe their leaders are not being honest about the war. “If anyone asks me why I’m protesting the war, I’m going to ask, ‘Why are you not protesting?’ ” he said.

“I don’t understand how people can go out and protest the war,” responded Davis, who had explained from the beginning that he was there to talk about supporting the troops. While he’s not pro-war, Davis continued, the bottom line is that the troops simply aren’t coming home anytime soon. “Whether we went to war for the right or wrong reason, it isn’t their fault,” he said.

“There’s always a war,” he continued. “If you support our troops, come and pack a box — with love. That’s supporting our troops.” Once each month, Davis and other volunteers meet at Post 52 on Dunham Road to pack boxes of snacks, gifts and cards for those serving in the military. The next packing session is scheduled for May 10 at 10 a.m.

According to Davis, protesting a national issue on a local level — objecting to the War in Iraq in Diamond Park, for example — doesn’t do anyone any good. “If you want to protest, go to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,” he said, referring to the nation’s capital.

A member of the audience disagreed, referring to dissent in smalls towns and villages as “what is America is all about.”

“You can protest anyplace you want — but your voice will be heard best in Washington,” Davis responded.

Kelson disagreed. “If you stifle dissent, you harm national security,” he said. “Nothing has been accomplished in Washington,” he continued, noting that throughout American history, “it was people in the streets who did everything.”

In addition to Davis and Kelson, panel members included Robert Rhodes, professor emeritus of political science at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania; Women in Black participant Bronwell Bond; and Allegheny College senior Peter Fill. The program was sponsored by Allegheny’s Department of Religious Studies/Service Learning and Center for Political Participation. As moderator, Sarkis chose Sarah Roncolato, instructor of the class that inspired the event.



Mary Spicer can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at mspicer@meadvilletribune.com