Another World Is Possible

In an election season plagued by messages of change, perhaps we should examine where these cries of hope stem from. Around the world, war and occupation for the control of oil and geopolitical dominance of the Middle East have proven, people of the world will not tolerate oppression on such a massive scale. When pushed to the brink, Iraqis have fought back. In the United States, the majority of the people have had it with a trillion dollars worth of destructive “liberation” in Iraq. The deregulation of our industries coupled with the attack on social spending has led to a rise in unemployment. Not to mention the housing, banking, food, gas, healthcare and education crisis; a result of opposing parties with supposedly different alternatives. The neoliberal policies of the last 30 years have all been discredited.

Even students feel the heat. As we scramble to deal with tuition and food increases, a majority turn to loans due to the cutback of federal and state grants. While $12 billion a month are spent murdering people abroad for profit and empire, the latest New York State budget intends on cutting $31 million from the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) grants for college students. Since I’ve been at RIT (2004), tuition has gone up nearly $5,000 while my financial aid package increasingly adopts more loans. The rise in food costs has even affected prices on campus. Just take a look at the Ritz Sports Zone, where the “Ancho Grill” no longer offers a meal for less than $2.

Capitalism, in this country, with all its wealth has hit an economic slump. But rather than using its vast wealth to save itself from its own extinction, by providing workers and their families with tax reliefs, subsidies, or perhaps an equal and democratic ownership of resources, it pushes the working class deeper and deeper into despair by cutting jobs, wages, and social programs. But when Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are in trouble we’ve been able to find all the time and resources to bail them out.

The candidates of “change” each have their plans to make our lives better. McCain is proud of the fact that he’s going to continue the policies of the Bush administration, with the continuous tax relief for the rich.  His attitude toward the plight of the poor and oppressed is synonymous with the Reagan era. Obama’s proposal to give the middle class tax cuts fails in comparison with not providing families with single-payer universal healthcare, end to war, alternative energy, and affordable education… that a majority of Americans want.  With the development of mass production, we now have the ability to feed, clothe, and house everyone a hundred times over. Yet people around the world go hungry and live on the streets everyday.

This bipartisan assault from the ruling class parties in the U.S. has got to end. Change comes from the self-emancipation of the masses and the demands we make on the leadership we elect. Take a look at the civil rights, women’s rights, gay liberation, and anti-war movements of the 60s. Each of which forced the leadership in this country to take action, pass laws, and end wars. The sit-down strikes of the 30s were great examples of times when workers realized they held the power to keep society functioning. The ability to harness that power, to create a system without systemic oppression, hunger and exploitation is possible. Only if we educate ourselves and organize our campuses and communities against the oppressive and exploitative nature of the system, can we unite and fight for a better world.