Some people are reminded by our current political climate of a time about 35 years ago. At that time, Watergate was unfolding, people were sick and tired of the corruption and pandering policies of their representatives, and a general distrust of the American government was pervasive. Oh, and there was this little war, Vietnam, still going on, you may have heard of it, it cost about 50,000 US servicement their lives...the Paris Peace Accords were still a few months away.
All that background given, what similarities do we see between now and then? A culture of corruption, war crimes ignored by a majority of the US population and its government, general disillusionment with Congress and the Administration...
All that background given, what similarities do we see between now and then? A culture of corruption, war crimes ignored by a majority of the US population and its government, general disillusionment with Congress and the Administration...
One of the huge differences I see in now and then was the vocal movement of veterans of Vietnam, whereas we don't see a huge anti-war advocacy coming from Iraq or Afghanistan vets. Scott Camil, one of the Gainesville 8, was a member of VVAW -- Vietnam Vets Against the War, and so was John Kerry. The association to VVAW played in the media during the 2004 presidential election.
A piece of local history of which I was blissfully unaware was the Gainesville 8. It is an interesting story, and you can read about it on Wikipedia, here, and here. Basically, 8 anti-war activists were charged (and later acquitted) with conspiracy to disrupt a Republican convention in Miami in 1972. Sounds like something that might happen again today, eh? Even better, you can watch a history of the story yourself, or download the .mov (40MB, right-click and "save target as").
Scott is coming to talk to the Humanist Society of Gainesville on Monday. I think it's a timely talk. Details follow:
Technorati tags: Politics
A piece of local history of which I was blissfully unaware was the Gainesville 8. It is an interesting story, and you can read about it on Wikipedia, here, and here. Basically, 8 anti-war activists were charged (and later acquitted) with conspiracy to disrupt a Republican convention in Miami in 1972. Sounds like something that might happen again today, eh? Even better, you can watch a history of the story yourself, or download the .mov (40MB, right-click and "save target as").
Scott is coming to talk to the Humanist Society of Gainesville on Monday. I think it's a timely talk. Details follow:
October 2006 meeting scheduled for Monday, Oct 9th________________
Speaker: Scott Camil
Topic:
Scott is a political activist and member of Vietnam Veterans against the War. He was a witness in the Winter Soldier Investigation which documented war crimes committed by US military during the Vietnam War. Scott served with the Marines from 1965 to 1967, earning two Purple Hearts and numerous other medals during his two tours in Vietnam.
He has recently been hosting viewings of the film, "Seasoned Veteran: Journey of a Winter Soldier", and discussions forums around the country about the Winter Soldier Investigation. He was one of the Gainesville Eight, a group of anti-war activists indicted on charges of conspiracy to disrupt the 1972 Republican Convention in Miami Florida.
Watch movie, "The History of the Gainesville Eight" online.
Meetings are held every second Monday of the month in Room DA 131 (please note room change for 2006) at the Downtown Campus of Santa Fe Community College at 7:30 p.m.. Meetings are open to the public and all interested parties are welcome to join us.
Click HERE for a map showing where the meetings are held. Dates for future meetings:
November 13
December 11
Technorati tags: Politics
