--an editorial fron the American Militant (April 26th)
The April 17 March on Washington to protest the U.S. war in Vietnan exceeded the nost optinistic expectations of its initiators and supporters. Scene 20,000 people, nost of whon were students, deuonstrated their opposition to the war the Johnson adninistration is waging against the people of Vietnan.
This huge outpouring reflects the growing opposition to the war on the nation's compuses. The success of the march is olso an indication of the measincss ever the wor felt by wide sections of the pepulation as a whole,
The Students for a Desocratic Society, which organized the uarch, ond the other youth organizations and individuals who helped build it are to be concratulated for o job well done,
The success of the march was due not only to the renl and prowing opposition on caupus to the war, but nlso to the policies carried out by the organizers of the march which helped to build it and onintain ita nilitant spirit.
The original call for the uarch told the truth about the war. It described the wor as o civil war, It didn't buy the view that "beth sides" ore"equally to blane" ond concentrated its fire on the U.S, government, whose uilitary intervention threatens to plunge Asia ond the world into 4 bloody holocaust.
All who ogreed that the war should be ended now were invited to support the narch. Under this policy of non=exclusion the support of revelutionary socilists was welconed. ‘The SDS leaders stuck to this policy despite pressure fron all kinds of liberals, State Departuent socialists, those in the right-wing of the peace doveuent, etc, : The policy of non-exclusion opened the way for the activista and nilitants te join in the orgoenization of the narch, and te contribute their energy and spirit = no saall factor in the large turnout fron nany cities and caupuses,
The denonstration proved, the fallacy of the oft-repeated arcunent of’ professional liberals that. serious opposition to the Johnson adninistration can only isolate the novenent and render its protests “ineffective". The march was built an the basis of the unquclified denand on the goverment to end the war in Vietnan, o denand which generated enthusiasn and support for the uarch.
_ in his speech at the march, SDS President Paul Potter called upon the students assenbled there to go back hone and organize to fight the systen that is responsible for the war. "We must none that systen", he contined, "We must nave it, describe it, analyze it, understand it and change it. For it is only when that systen is changed and breught under control that there can be any hope for atopping
the forces that create a war in Vietnan today or a murder in the South tonuorrow or all the incalculable, innunerable Atrocities that ore worked on people all over =- all the tinc."
In his speech, Fotter did not sive "the systen" ita none - but the ensuy is clear. It ig the capitdlist systen. Driven by its need to expand its markets, capitalist inperialisn is impelled to seck areas of investnent ond control over the world's resources to maintain its deninion over a world in which resistance to capitalist exploitation and SOE ORSIOD COTTAM. to mount.
Under conpuleion to eee the tide of revolt, Cops telian is beconing nore anid nore warlike, ready to wage Ward agoninat people Pir ahtine for independence and freedom - os in Vietnan.-
Port and parcel of capitalism's increasingly warlike stand hos bean the developrent of a huge nilitary machine. An unholy olliance betreen big business and the military hos been formed. At the apex of this oilitary-industricl conplex stands the president of its chicf executive and comnander-in-chicf,
This capitalist power structure is osintained through the tivo capitalist porties. Both the Démoarnts and the Republicans are committed to ie ond BerPe ress, the systen responsible for the wor in Vietion,
By their support of the Johnson aduinistration, the liberals, labor leaders, leaders of nost of the civil rights groups, the right wing of the pacifist movenent and the nenly-nouthed Conuunist and Socialist Farties, are in reality, lending support to the syaten which ia waging wer in Vietnon. ‘They act os ogents of the power structure, preventing the organisation of an effective opposition against this syeten,
The uoss of young people who joined the march on Washington against the war in Vietnan were in fact placing thenselves in opposition to the Johnson adninistration and the whole systen. If they follow the logic of their opposition to the war in Vietmaon, they will brenk entircly with the syaten's political partiocs ond institutions which are sii out the war, By doing so they con lend others to do the SAG» ; s
THe April 1? denonstration is only © beginning. The next step is to continue without letup the campus devenstrations and discussions on a locol, state, aren ond national scale against this war, and to turn the campuses into citadels of oppopition to the war. But the organization of protest should not stop there.
The students are todcy in the forefront of the fight ogoainst the war in Vietnon, but by thenselves they cannot stop it. Ths protest against the war should be carried to wider sections of the population who do have power = the working people, Prnyorere and, SAS EE RE See. and the Nearo froodon fichters,
The nonstrous growth of nilitarisn bedes no good for the labor novenent, civil-richts bovenent or acadenic freeden. Just as Trunan's war in Koren pewal tell in the developuent of McCarthyisn, the war in Vietnam has strengthened tho nost reactionary forecs in America. The forces which are tie nost vociferous supporters of the war in Vietnan cre the soue forces which are in the forefront of the drive to hanstring the labor novenent, barn back the civil-rights novenent, and destroy civil liberties.
The labor novement, the Negro people and the students oll stand to lose by a resurgence of McCarthyisn which is bound to be the result of an unchecked escolation of the Vietnan war. The labor novenent and civil-rights novenent, in their own interests, should now join the students who have led the way, ond fight ofoinst this dirty war in Vietnan.