LETTER: Coalition made to succeed
Editor,
I am writing to refute the accusations that the College Democrats have somehow committed a mistake by aligning themselves with the Pride! Alliance and the Socialist Student Union.
I was involved with the planning of the protest sponsored by the Progressive Coalition, and I think that collaboration was a very positive experience for everyone involved. We met a lot of new people, formed new friendships, and were able to come together and put forth a list of grievances that addressed the varied interests of all the groups involved, and I am very proud of what we accomplished. I believe it is a great mistake to think that any club involved in that coalition has somehow been harmed by its association with any of the others.
I think part of the reason for this mistake may stem from confusion with the term “coalition.” Just because a certain group is a member of a coalition does not mean that those groups lose their individual identity. Let me illustrate this with an example: Great Britain is part of the “coalition of the willing” in the war in Iraq. Contrary to what some might think, the fact that they are participating in this coalition does not mean that they have become the 51st state of the union. Even if Great Britain wanted to become the 51st state, I don’t think the United States would accept them because their government is strongly influenced by that hated element known as “socialism”. In fact, that pesky “ism”~which is not the same thing as communism has worked its way in varying forms into almost all the governments in Europe.
I am not writing this letter to distance myself from the Pride! Alliance or the SSU. Personally, I strongly believe that everyone should have access to health care, and that homosexuals should enjoy the exact same rights that everyone else does. If those beliefs make me a radical leftist, then I gladly accept the title, but I refuse to accept that I am somehow worse off through my association with another club in the Progressive Coalition.
Steve