Last Semester I attended the School of the Americas protest, it was a powerful experience. The School of the Americas (now officially WHINSEC) is part of Fort Benning in Georgia. There, the US government brings in and trains Latin American soldiers to "promote democracy." It has been proven that these soldiers have been trained in forms of torture outlawed by our own military. Rather then promoting democracy, often these soldiers enforce military dictatorships. SOA graduates have been linked to the murder of Oscar Romero and many other citizens and Jesuit volunteers.
This is an example of the danger in trying to force change. As Paulo Friere stated, "the pedagogy of the oppressed must be a pedagogy that is formed with, and not for the oppressed." I am a firm believer that to help the oppressed we must empower them, listen to them, and release the hubris that impedes our ability to make rational decisions.
Beehive Collective
http://www.soaw.org/
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