A grassroots alliance in small town Florida isn’t just pontificating about a possible draft, they are doing something concrete about it.
Three local women returned to the St. Johns County School board Tuesday with a request that “Opt Out” of military service forms be made readily available to St. Johns County students and their families.
Anne Galloway and Laura Braly, both members of People for Peace and Justice, and Peg Maguire, a member of Grandmothers for Peace, asked the school board to provide parents and of-age students with a form that gives them the freedom to opt out of the service.
Few people know the Bush government sneaked a clause into law the forces schools to contribute to a national database on teens, for use when they become old enough for the draft we don’t have. Yet.
Braly pointed out that Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires schools to forward a student’s data to the military, but she also said that the law gives parents the option to prevent their children’s information from being sent to military recruiters.
“Parents need to be made equally aware of their option to deny this process,” Braly said.
This is just one little group of women taking a stab at a great big thing, but who knows, maybe it could grow into a movement. Hmmm, a movement. Reminds me of Arlo Guthrie.
“I went over to the sargent, said, “Sargeant, you got a lot a damn gall to ask me if I’ve rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I’m sittin’ here on the bench, I mean I’m sittin’ here on the Group W bench ’cause you want to know if I’m moral enough join the army – burn women, kids, houses and villages – after bein’ a litterbug.”
He looked at me and said, “Kid, we don’t like your kind, and we’re gonna send you fingerprints off to Washington.”
And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is a study in black and white of my fingerprints. And the only reason I’m singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if you’re in a situation like that there’s only one thing you can do and that’s walk into the shrink wherever you are, just walk in say “Shrink, you can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant.” And walk out.
You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he’s really sick and they won’t take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they’re both faggots and they won’t take either of them. And three people do it, three – can you imagine – three people walking in singin’ a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out?
They may think it’s an organization. And can you, can you imagine 50 people a day, I said 50 people a day walking in singin’ a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out? Friends, they may think it’s a movement…”
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