Tuesday

An individual struggle

I just finished reading So Sad to Fall in Battle, which was the basis for the film Letters from Iwo Jima. I recommend both book and film. They are very touching stories about individuals experiencing a horrific event told from a perspective we don't often see.

In Japan during World War II, the high command developed the grand strategic plan and general tactics to be used. The soldiers in the field had to figure out how to implement the plan which did not take into consideration the actual conditions they faced. And neither group could talk to each other because of the rigid class structure in Japan at that time. ...

Lieutenant General Kuribayashi Tadamichi, the commander of the defense of Iwo Jima was able to look beyond the way things had always been done. He analyzed how Japanese island defenses had fared and wanted to do better. Using reason and his knowledge of other cultures, he defied the norms and mounted a defense that is etched forever in American military history.

How about us? It's easy to say that the WEA should be doing such and such, just as it is easy to say that the Japanese army and the American marines did certain things. But the real story is that it is individuals who do things. If you read the book, you will see that Kuribayashi did not just do what he was supposed to do. As an individual, he did his best to do what he believed was the right thing to do. What about you? Do you blame the system and wait for "someone" to do something. The real story is about the individuals. It is about each one of us. Doing the best we can. And joining with others, each doing their best, for the power that comes from uniting.

Right now, we in public education are in a struggle for a simple majority for levy elections. There is no organized opposition, only our own inertia. All of us, as educators, need to vote. We also need to encourage other pro-education voters to vote. This is a grassroots campaign using phone banks to get out the vote. As with any struggle, even the battle of Iwo Jima, it is the story of individuals. Individuals are making the calls, and individuals are voting. I sent in my ballot and I joined a phone bank in calling. Now, I am asking you to do the same, for public education, for the students.

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