Part of an interview on military recruiting

Yesterday I was contacted by my friend Jenni
to be interviewed tonight for a program that will air in several months on our local community radio station, called “Freestyle Radio”. I will be speaking to the military recruiting clause in the No Child Left Behind Act, what it entails, what rights parents and students have and what they can do to opt out. I understand I will also be asked my feelings about possible conscription and the effects that would have on my family (my two sons are 21 and 18 and my daughter is 15).

As a Green and a person who subscribes to non-violence principles, I do not see the military as a viable option for young people. I am happy that more and more people, especially parents, are standing up to recruiters and saying “no” (apparently recruiters have stepped up their efforts to target parents in getting young people recruited). There are schools in Seattle, I have read, whose parents stand at the door and tell recruiters that they are not welcomed. As a public school educator, I see no reason to have a military recruiting clause in an education act supposedly designed to raise standards and improve the learning of children in our public schools.

I used to work in a school that aired the program “Channel One”, a commercial t.v. program owned by the pepsi-cola company. It is filled with commercials and schools who purchase the daily program have their tv sets programmed to turn on automatically in the classrooms (I would take a yardstick and turn it off. No one every found out, even though the kids wondered why I did that – I told them we could use more class time). The school I teach in now fortunately does not subscribe to that program. I understand that the ads lately have been military ads.

Our military is not in the business of defending the citizens. It is in the business of defending corporate interests and will go to any lengths to recruit young people to be part of the complex that is in that business. Should there ever be a draft I am hopeful that people all over will engage in civil disobedience and refuse to serve. The corporations do not serve the people and the people should not serve them.

I am also happy that Greens all over the country are standing up to the military recruiting programs. One Florida Green, Echo Steiner has been very active in this regard (read her blog!).

I will post here when the program will be aired – I think folks all over will be able to hear it via the internet on the radio’s website (KRCL, Salt Lake City Utah – http://www.krcl.org)