When Professor Gary Leupp was in seventh grade, a fellow classmate lost her brother in the Vietnam War. Upon hearing of his death, Leupp tried to console the girl, telling her that she should be happy that her brother died defending freedom.
The son of an Air Force officer, Leupp spent much of his childhood on military bases - a self-described "patriotic, flag-loving American." But after that day in seventh grade, after a teacher urged Leupp to be more sensitive, he began to question his unfaltering allegiance to the American government. Within a year he was sneaking out to protests and actively demonstrating in anti-war movements.
Leupp's level of political activism escalated throughout his youth. As a student at the University of Hawaii, he was involved in everything from movements supporting custodians to anti-imperialist demonstrations. Today, Leupp teaches Japanese history at Tufts. When he is not devoted to research, much of his spare time is directed toward political activism.
Leupp, like many of his colleagues at Tufts, has taken up the cause of educating students about the implications of the US retaliation against terrorism. Last month, Leupp and other faculty members organized a teach-in to discuss the events of Sept. 11. The teach-in concept originates from anti-war demonstrations during Vietnam - they were hastily organized meetings to separate the "truth" from perceived media fabrications about war and politics.
Last month's teach-in, Leupp says, stemmed from anger he and his colleagues felt toward the "lock-step media treatment of the crisis following Sept. 11, the lack of attention to the root causes of anti-American sentiment in the world, and concern for the well-being of [minority] communities."
The impetus behind political demonstrations, according to Leupp, is to determine the true cause for the worldwide animosity towards the US. The federal government, he says, would have Americans believe that other nations around the world resent our freedom. Leupp argues that the animosity actually stems from the US government's often oppressive involvement in the affairs of other nations around the world.
"The US government has backed so many Pinochets, Fujimoris, Mobutus, Francos, Caetanos, Shahs, Suhartos, Marcoses... these are not exceptions," Leupp explains. "US support for tyrants is the norm, and people resent that."
Leupp stresses that America is an imperialist country that uses military force to create the best situation for US capital around the globe. Although people often associate capitalism with freedom, it comes at the expense of oppressing many other nations, Leupp said. Now that the US is at war, and the first civilian casualties - four UN workers in Afghanistan - have been confirmed, opposition against America can only escalate, says Leupp.
"My hope is that people wake up to the reality that there is legitimate anger in the world... against US unconditional support for Israel, against the sanctions imposed on Iraq, against US support for brutal regimes," Leupp said. "I hope people start to question and to contemplate ways to change the status quo."
As students become bombarded with fact, fiction, and propaganda by the American media, Leupp claims, the only way to clearly understanding of world events is to look at the chronology of events.
Understanding history can be a key resource for understanding the future, according to Leupp. He recommends that students study the historical relationship between the US and the Arab nations, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Leupp also discourages the practice of "rallying around the flag," an affect that he says has been abused to create an atmosphere of unquestioning government allegiance. Leupp, who describes himself as an anti-imperialist, not a pacifist, urges students to oppose America's war.
"Feel what it's like to meet up with others who challenge the bullshit," Leupp advises. "Challenge the one-dimensional treatment in the media of the war. Make it clear that the nation is not united in support of strikes against Afghanistan and other countries."
In a time of omnipresent patriotism - a time, some would say, on the verge of fascism - dissidents assert that it is more important than ever to question government decisions. College campuses, often isolated from the outside world, harbor more political inertia than the nation at large. They are either indifferent to national problems, or they are more "aware" - often resulting in activism against the mainstream view.
