Take heart, Universitystudents and citizens of Charlottesville. You're safe in this town. The bombs of Baghdad, the arsenal of al Qaeda, the nukes from North Korea -- nothing can touch us for we are now a City for Peace. Oh, wait. The nukes from North Korea can still get us. We are only a City for Peace where Iraq is concerned. That is, of course, according to Charlottesville's City Council. The Council passed a resolution against a war on Iraq last week, overstepping their authority, abandoning the will of the people, and setting up Charlottesville to look ridiculous.
On Monday, February 3, the Council passed a resolution declaring Charlottesville a "City for Peace." Four out of the five council members were in favor of the decree with Republican Rob Schilling the only holdout. The resolution, regardless of anyone's stance on the Iraq situation, is absurd to say the least.
The Council is in fact just what it sounds like -- a city Council. They have no authority in state, let alone national, issues. The resolution was partly sponsored by the Cities for Peace Organization, a self-described "coalition of local elected officials and concerned citizens working to get City Councils and other civic bodies to pass resolutions against a war on Iraq" (www.ips-dc.org/citiesforpeace/about.htm). Their site contains a page on "What Makes the War on Iraq City Council Business?" Three reasons are listed -- to establish the local nexus, demonstrate widespread public sentiment, and demonstrate that contact with the Congress and the White House has been futile.
Establishing the local nexus -- that sounds like a worthy endeavor. Everyone should have an idea of the local impact a war could have. Things such as "alerting council to the number of part-time military personnel in the city or state which are called up leaving a vacuum in local "first responders," and alerting council to the increased danger of international travel by residents of your town" are all listed as local ties. Again, it's ridiculous. The Council has no control over the safety of their citizens who travel abroad. They don't even have control of the safety of the citizens who travel to Harrisonburg or Staunton. Yes, a war would be scary for Americans traveling abroad. But overseas is already a terrifying place for Americans, as so many politicians have already pointed out. A war would not change that situation except for maybe in Iraq -- and it's doubtful there are many Americans planning their spring breaks for Baghdad.
"First responders" is another issue all together. The American military is a voluntary force. These brave men and women have chosen to serve our country in time of peace and in war. The idea that we should prevent a war in Iraq simply to fill our quota of firemen and EMT's is an absurd and selfish one. If a war in Iraq is needed and our courageous military members must go, then our cities, our counties, our states, need to bond together to fill their absence. Much like the Rosie Riveters of World War II fame, those left behind must step up to the plate and take over some responsibility. This may mean ordinary citizens sign up for first aid training courses, volunteer at their local fire station, etc.-- whatever is necessary to keep this country running. Additionally, the City of Charlottesville must always be prepared to lose their military population. The National Guard can be whisked away in a second because of civil unrest or a flood. The members of the armed services could also disappear overnight due to a sudden attack from our enemies.Charlottesville, as much it would like to, cannot pick and choose when it loses its military personnel.
So if the Council's attempt to establish a "local nexus" is absurd it can at least show the public sentiment of the city, right? Wrong. No real public sentiment was shown. A petition was presented to the council containing 2,000 signatures opposed to a potential war in Iraq. 2,000 signatures out of a population 45,049 is nothing. It is less the five percent of Charlottesville's population. Five percent certainly does not denote a "widespread public sentiment." Rather it shows a small fraction of the people opposed to war and a rather substantial majority whose voices were never heard. In fact, reports show that equal numbers of speakers at the City Council meeting last Monday supported the resolution as did speak against it. A resolution with at least 50 percent support should never be passed to speak for an entire city.
At least the Cities for Peace Campaign has one solid reason for cities to be involved in a national issue. They should support their citizens who have already "written, called and otherwise contacted" representatives in the Congress and the White House to no avail. As much as Charlottesville and its "world-class" status would like to think it's a big player in politics, it is in fact a small fish in a very large pond. The Charlottesville resolution will probably be glanced at once and then tossed aside with the similar decrees of Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
If nothing else, Charlottesville's resolution will give it a sad place in history. Berkeley declared itself opposed to action in Afghanistan, right before our country went on to take down the horrible Taliban regime, put a large dent in terrorism, and do so quickly and with few casualties. Enemies don't value cities of peace, nor do governments who have a job to do.
(Maggie Bowden is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at mbowden@cavalierdaily.com.)
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