R.W. Burniske's comments closely capture my own thoughts and sentiments about peace and justice as they relate to the War in Iraq and the possibility of future military actions occurring around the world. As a member of the faculty at the University of Hawaii, I have been inspired and invigorated by the number of faculty members and students on our campus who have made their voices heard regarding the need to promote peace and not war over the past several months.

I have also been disappointed in the number of persons on our campus who remain silent in spite ot the horrific actions that are occurring in Iraq. When I take time to reflect on some of the reasons why persons who are in important positions of power and influence would remain silent during this sort of moral crisis...some of the things that come to my mind include ... peoples' fear of appearing unpatriotic, indivudals who are simply not confident in articulating their belifs about peace publically, some people's genuine desire to maintain the status quo, and an awareness that many members of the acadmy believe that the War in Iraq is a reasonable response to the issues that the Bush Administration has raised in its propagandized efforts to sell the war to the U.S. citiznry through lies and other types of deception.

While I can understand these perspectives I do not "respect" them. When looking up the word "respect" in the dictionary it states "to hold in high esteem." I am not respectful of this silent complicity in part because I am a member of the international peace and social justice movement. From this vantage point, I can understand but not necessarily be respectful of those administrators, faculty members, and students in higher education institutions who help support war through their quiet complicity....My lack of respect for this posture is also rooted in an awareness that this silence is typically manifested by people in higher education who are the direct recipients of many of the economic-social privileges that go with being a professional in higher education.

While the silent passivity that has characterized the way many members of the academy have responded to the war build-up and implementation is disturbing; I also realize that this response to moral crises in higher education is more the norm than the exception. I say this because of my knowledge of the ways in which higher education administrators and faculty members have historically and presently continue to fail to address the complex ways in which other forms of cultural oppression and racism are embedded in this nation's and our state's system of higher education.

As these thoughts pass through my mind, I am reminded of what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had repeatedly said during the civil rights movement, "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem"...

When we fail to take a stand to promote peace...when we remain silent on issues of peace and justice... we need to be reminded that there is a violence in this silence...as we are guilty through complicity...silently complying with the leaders of our nation as they continue to assert more primitive, more destructive, illegal and immoral ways of resolving interpersonal-international conflicts.

Michael D'Andrea
Department of Counselor Education
University of Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
E-Mail Michael@hawaii.edu