I noticed something while walking past Johnson Hall Wednesday. The Strike for Peace tent, which was missing for months, suddenly reappeared. This begs the question â?” where was Brian Bogart for the last few months?
For those who don’t know, Bogart is the University’s only Peace Studies major and founder of the nationwide Strike for Peace campaign. The campaign, which began on Sept. 26 of last year, was established to raise awareness of America’s defense industry. Since 1950, it has been our biggest industry, and that is completely unacceptable for Bogart. To further his campaign, Bogart promised to camp out across from Johnson hall for about five hours every school day to gather signatures for his petition, which he plans to present to President Bush in June.
Naturally, having not seen Bogart in some time, I was curious as to where he was. I’m happy to report that after a few days, he responded to my e-mail. Bogart insists that he always said that the strike outside Johnson Hall was weather-permitting, but that no one heard him say that part. However, on his own Web site, Bogart says, “Then I will speak against war all year from noon to dusk, to focus public attention on statistics that reveal America’s obscene war-for-profit economy and my university’s deepening participation in it.”
Of course, I wanted to know what he’d been doing the last couple months. Instead of protesting outside Johnson Hall, he’s been busy sifting through Department of
Defense documents and his only speaking engagement will be on campus on Feb. 15. His Web site hasn’t been updated in months, and there have been very few articles on him or the Strike for Peace campaign written since December.
This campaign has made me realize how grateful I am that our men and women overseas have more dedication than Bogart. They are willing to lay down their lives for our country; Bogart can’t bring himself to stand outside in the rain. Bogart’s platform is equally disappointing. I would expect a well-thought out argument from such a well-read man. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.
He tells reporters repeatedly that America is a peaceful nation, asking why we spend so much on war. I hate to burst his bubble, but we aren’t a peaceful country. We keep the peace. And to do so, we must have the best military. It is a shame that we spend more on defense than anything else – but without strong defenses, funding for education or medicine doesn’t really matter.
Bogart seems to be fond of reminding people that since 1950, defense has been our biggest industry. Of course it has. We were in a war against the USSR. Though liberals hate to admit it, mutually assured destruction works – but only if you have the firepower to back up your threats. Had we simply dropped out of the arms race, we certainly wouldn’t be the superpower. I, for one, am glad that Russia isn’t setting the global agenda.
In addition to striking outside Johnson Hall, Bogart refuses to go to class because the University has several military contracts. He feels that by attending class, he’s somehow supporting the military – never mind the fact that he’s paying the University, which I think does more to support it than attending class. What I don’t understand is why he feels that a public university, partially funded by the government, shouldn’t take military contracts. If the University of Oregon were entirely private, it would be a different matter. This might be completely off-base, but I think that the government should be able to use the University’s resources in return for providing funding.
It seems Bogart has fallen victim to the old liberal talking point – war has never solved anything.
He seems to forget that war has done a lot of good, such as ending slavery, the Holocaust, fascism and communism. While each war did cost the lives of our troops, I like to think that their sacrifice was for a worthy cause.
While I respect Bogart for responding to my e-mail and like him as a person, I do not agree with his opinions. What I don’t think he understands is that we are the last and best hope for freedom in the world. America is the greatest and most powerful country on earth, and to stay that way we need to defend ourselves.

 
[email protected]