STEVE ALPERT
Valedictorian Speech
Yorktown High School
June 12, 1970
 
 
            Mr. Kier, Dr. Wilson and distinguished platform guests, faculty, fellow students, parents, and friends.  As graduating seniors we are leaving the sheltered environment of high school, and are entering society in a larger sense.  The society into which we are entering is far from perfect. There are many aspects with which we do not agree.  In response, we are registering our dissatisfaction and expressing a desire for change.
 
            In this respect, we are no different from the students of previous generations who also sought to implement change.  However, we identify more closely as a generation, and we are better organized on both local and national levels, which enables us to carry our protest farther and faster, as exemplified by the November Moratorium.
 
            Regardless of the nature of our dissent, whether it concerns racial discrimination, pollution of the environment, or the military policies of the United States in Southeast Asia, we are repeatedly told that we must “work within the system” to bring about changes.  But many students reject “working within the system” as the only effective method of instituting change  Why is this so?
 
            The answer is that there is hypocrisy in every day life.  There are abundant examples of “one thing said, and another thing done.”  For example, in our required course on government, awe are taught that the democratic process derives its power from the people, and that government is responsive to the will of the people.  In reality, however, these facts do not prevail.  We see our Congress dominated by elderly committee chairmen whose outlook is that of another period, consistently thwarting legislation which might in any way undermine the status quo.  And those same adults who adamantly insist that youth “work within the system” are responsible for the fact that most states do not grant 18 year old the right to vote.  Thus, they deny us the use of the system’s accepted method of voicing opinions and beliefs.
 
            Of all the issues which could be cited, however, none has destroyed the effectiveness of the democratic process in the eyes of the younger generation more than the war in Indochina.
 
            At a recent session of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Mr. George Fischer, President of the National Education Association, testified on the topic, “The effects of the Vietnam War on education.”
           
            In his testimony, Mr Fisher noted that violence as a form of political expression in support or in opposition to the war is increasing.  Tolerance of unorthodox forms of dress and speech, of the right to hold a different opinion, and of the right to speak out for or against government policies, is rapidly fading.  Name calling has become the order of the day.
 
            Mr. Fisher continued that the political system seems to have become unresponsive to student opinion.  Successive administrations have made a point of demonstrating that they will not be affected by opposing opinion, and that they would prefer that these opinions not even be expressed.  This attitude has led to a growing frustration on the part of students.  This frustration has in turn lead to dissatisfaction and distrust of the political system, and the adoption of radical tactics.
            Committee Chairman William Fullbright commented that under the existing chaotic conditions, the elder generation will not listen to the students.  Unfortunately, it appears that the flamboyance of a small minority has obscured the sincerity of both student concern and intent. 
 
            Thus, we find ourselves in a cycle which continues to build in magnitude with each passing year.  Students are repeatedly frustrated in their attempts to implement change within the system, so radical tactics are adopted.  The often violent nature of these tactics alienates the older generation so that they refuse to even consider student opinions.  This situation can not continue much longer.  Already some universities are in a state of total disruption, and the American society is experiencing an upheaval of discontent.
 
            Is there a solution to this situation?  Certainly a change in attitudes of both the younger and older generations is needed.  The older generation must recognize that the aim of students is the improvement of society, and not its destruction.  They should also acknowledge that students today are more concerned, more involved, and hopefully more capable of contributing to society than they were at the same age.
 
At the same time, students must not be so naive as to believe that their protests will revolutionize society overnight.  We must accept the fact that orderly change in a society is inevitably a slow process.
 
Changes in attitude are important.  However, the real issue is that this country is not seriously directing itself to solving the problems of our society.  A realinement of our national priorities is most essential.
           
            The Indochina War has a direct effect on the allocation of resources in the American economy.  The high cost of the war simply means that there is less money for other programs.  Currently, almost half of the federal budget goes toward the maintenance of our armed forces and the procurement of weapons systems.  Four per cent is allotted to primary, secondary, and higher education.  Equally appalling is the small per cent of the budget devoted to improving the environment, to health, to community and housing development, and to natural resource development.
 
            The cost of the war to date has been estimated at 350 billion dollars.  Every hour of each day, the United States spends two million dollars on the war.  According to Senator Harold Hughes, these are some of the programs that could be accomplished if it were not for this war, all of which could be financed out of the war expenditures within a two year period.
 
            Provisions for pubic libraries for 12 million Americans who have no access to libraries.
            Four years of training for 125 thousand nurses and 50 thousand doctors.
            Construction of 296 thousand classrooms.
            Provision and equipment for 600 thousand hospital beds.
            Allocations for mass transportation systems amount to ten billion dollars over ten years.
            Federal grans for urban renewal of 14 billion over ten years.
            Government contribution of 13 billion to end air and water pollution.
 
            There is no assurance that the money made available from an end to the war would be devoted to these or similar programs.  But it is absolutely certain today that money will not be available for such programs unless the war is ended.
 
            Undeniably, our defense force must be maintained at a reasonable level at all times.  But does the commitment of the major share of our financial resources to defense justify the sacrifice of America’s domestic goals and the tranquility of the American society?