Posted on 04/16/2003 8:01:42 PM PDT by Sledge
I was at FAU on Parents Day for my #1 daughter's Sorority when I saw the signs advertising a "Rally for Peace" that would be held on campus the following Friday. At that time our troops were still driving across Iraq and we were waiting for the Republican Guard to make their stand in the "Mother of All Battles".
By the time of the rally Baghdad had fallen and the airwaves were full of statues falling, posters being ripped down and defaced, and the Iraqi peoples rejoicing in their new found freedom and welcoming the U.S. and British troops with waves, smiles and flowers. We heard many stories of children's prisons, torture chambers and the pleasure domes of the Saddam regime. It was made blindingly clear that the war was a just and admirable cause in which we freed millions of oppressed Iraqi's from the clutches of a despicable tyrant.
The night before the rally I saw a post on Free Republic announcing a "Support Our Troops & Rally Around the Flag" rally to be held in Delray Beach. I decided to make it a two-fer and photograph both rallies.
Rally #1 - "Rally for Peace"
Florida Atlantic University.
Sponsored by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
I showed up at the Rally for Peace a little late. There was virtually no one there. I had harbored visions of hordes of screaming peaceniks, but what I found was a few people on their lunch break. At least half of the people in this photo were scheduled speakers.
No lines and no waiting for pins and propaganda. They declare their Patriotic duty to dissent, while most Americans declared their Patriotic duty to ignore them.
There was a series of speakers on the agenda. The man on the left is a Viet-Nam Veteran who spoke on the evils of the Military Industrial Complex, and how the war was for the oil, and about getting lucrative rebuilding contracts for Bush's cronies. The woman on the right was the organizer of the rally and is a history professor who lectured us on the Imperialist nature of the United States throughout our history. The common theme from all of the speakers was "I hate Bush".
Our children are our most precious creations and should be protected from those leftists and anti-America activists that would indoctrinate them from positions of trust and power. Is there still time to save these misguided young ladies who were helping with the rally?
As the rally comes to a close the crowd has dwindled down to a pathetic level as the lunch time curiosity seekers move on with their lives and make their way to class.
Rally #2 - "Support Our Troops & Rally Around the Flag"
Old School Square, Delray Beach, FL
Sponsored by the VFW
I got to the Old School Square early and witnessed the color guards forming up and the people gathering. The crowd was not as large as I had wished for, but was far larger than the earlier "Rally for Peace".
The VFW Color Guard awaits the beginning of the rally.
Presentation of the Colors.
"I pledge Allegiance, to the Flag..."
The VFW Master of Ceremonies and some of the speakers for the rally.
The speakers spoke of remembrance, patriotism and honor, while future patriots and heroes listened intently.
Patriots listen to the speakers praise our heroes past and present.
A proud Navy Mom shows her support.
A Prayer for Absent Comrades...
And those they left behind.
- Stephen Starr
I am glad to see that there were only about 2 dozen people at the FAU rally.
Conversely, it was great to see the people in Delray, and many more of them. Love the downtown area. They have really done a lot to revitalize that area.
The statue of the little boy holding the flag had quite an impact on me. Next time I am in the area (this weekend), I will have to stop by.
My mother was one of the first Alums of FAU, earning her Masters in Special Ed in the early 70's. Since receiving the McArthur Foundation grant, the school seems to have gone down while the buildings have gone up.
The students are inundated with opportunities to participate in "campus life" endless parties, rallies, sporting events...but most of the students give them a pass. For the most part the kids are there to party hearty, and get a degree that will allow them to get a good paying job. Other than that, they prefer to be left to themselves, much like their mascot- "The Burrowing Owl." Did they have the "crime scene" tape around these critters while you were there?
I had a fairly good experience at FAU. I went to UF for a year, but then came home because of Hurricane Andrew. I finished up at FAU and had a pretty decent experience. Only had 1 situation that brought out the Lefty Nazis. I did have an instructor for a class titled Marriage and Family. She was more than a bit off (mentally and factually), but I didn't have any of it in the class. I would refuse to accept her (faulty) premises.
I would ask questions about her statements and it would anger her (and her minions that were taking the class) everyday.
Knowing the peril of her flunking me (which, by the way, is the real peril in college...not speaking out against the war), I had a sociology professor friend of mine (who, believe it or not, was staunchly conservative) critique my research/term papers. My (3) papers centered around the breakdown of the family caused by the feminist movement (ERA) of the 70s. Knowing that I had to turn it up a notch, my papers were THICK with powerfully-sourced references. Florida schools operate under the "Gordon Rule", which stipulates that a research/term paper be a minimum of 2,000 words (or approximately 10 pages). My three paper were around 30 pages a piece, with at least 20 different references.
Her tests were multiple choice and true/falses. I smoked them all. She tried to screw me on the papers, but I knew that was coming. She graded my first paper and gave me a D. I went to the department head and requested an independent review. Though the department head was liberal too, he was more philosophical and not about dogma. He read the paper and overrode the grade provided. He commented that the paper more than fulfilled the requirements of the assignment.
I ended up getting an A in the class. On the last day of class, some of her little flock called me a facist. I turned to them and said, "That's all you have? Name calling?" Laughter right in their face and walked away.
When I first moved to Boca Raton with my parents in late 1990, Atlantic Avenue was "dead" with lots of vacant stores, with the exception of a cute little sandwich shop that is (thankfully) still there. Today, it rivals Clematis Street in WPB as the nightlife/restaurant capital of Palm Beach County. I can honestly say that Delray Beach is overall a prettier and better laid out town (at least east of I-95) than the monstrosity of tackiness that is Boca Raton.
When I was visiting my parents a few weeks back, I noticed that the gentrification has crept further west into the historically black part of town and that they were even building luxury condos in the area. This would have been unthinkable even ten years ago.
P.S. If anyone knows of a business/company in the North/West Palm Beach area that needs a senior manager/executive with 10 years of experience and an MBA (actually I will be done in July), let me know. My family lives in North Florida, but all of the family is in South Florida. I have a wealth of experience in project work, as well as management and leadership positions. My areas of specialty include technology management, marketing, and operations management.
As I said, I grew up there and most of my family lives there. I don't know if I want to live in PB county. Maybe live in Martin county and work in PB county?
Well, if you know anyone how knows someone who has a need for a senior manager or executive, FReepmail me, eh?
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