I have taken a bit of heat in the past for my overseas activism, so I must be up front in saying to my critics; if you think I (or any other IVAW speaker) only speak out once I cross outside the boundaries of our own country, you really need to do your homework. I can sympathize with those who believe IVAW members rush to the stage just to receive applause or some sense of validation, but I assure you, many of the veterans (both left or right leaning) are made entirely uncomfortable by excessive, hollow applause or praise (yeah, that includes the 10,000 “thank you” posters you see in airports and the like). Furthermore, if you think that the US should in some way be immune to our own constructive criticisms or even the biting criticism of other countries, you really need to be a bit more objective in your outlook toward our own nation; the international community has more than enough to gripe about. Finally, it would be absurd to consider this a personal endeavor, as I filled a request through, for, and by the organization as a whole, and I behaved accordingly.

That being said, it was not particularly my type of crowd (or so I thought). Marxists in my mind are mostly very provocative and, well, revolutionary. I expected a bit of knee-jerk leftist reactionism, but failed to find any. I had been invited by an organization named Socialist Alternative (SA), and this was to be their annual conference. Besides an Iraq veteran who had come to oppose the war, they also had brought two activists from South Africa who were busy opposing the rampant privatization of basic human necessities like water. There was also a Chinese activist somewhere in the mix, but I did not meet him until the last night of the conference. I was impressed and glad to be a part of something so well rounded.

I arrived in Sydney two days after I left the National Labor college and was ushered off to the public university there by lunch time to participate in my first discussion. Just outside, Australian businessmen were recruiting for the equivalent of the US CIA. Security was tight because the SA had had a history with the group apparently. I was introduced by a professor and I briefly outlined IVAWs three points of unity and explained the event I had come from and its relevancy to the movement to end the war. After a quick rundown, we took questions from the audience, including a very upset student who could not understand why we were not outside “wrecking” the recruitment tables. As sympathetically as I could, I explained the importance of a good strategy working in tandem with planned actions, and the often ineffectiveness of hasty protests. He didn’t like that answer much.

I only had the next day to run around Sydney, so I jetted to the Opera House on the edge of the harbor. Not quite what I expected, seeing as all the pictures are taken from the water…

In Melbourne for the start of Marxism 2008 the next day, I breezed through the opening plenary with ease. The other speakers were just as well received as IVAW and the room was on its feet at the end of every address. Later, I would have stayed to chat at the student lounge, but my host was unable to secure a ride for me, so I took an early night. The next morning, I was asked to do a radio interview for a small public station very much like Democracy now (if DN had a bit more music). The host asked some very pressing questions, including very relevant questions about the religious atmosphere in America (he had come across my blog and was interested in the fact that I was a Christian who did not blindly support the current “Pastor in Chief”) as well as the supposed monopoly on morality that many fundamentalist Christians seem to think they hold.

The rest of the conference was fair game once the plenary was over, so I attended a seminar or two on Friday and Saturday. The first I sat in on was titled “Is there a nonviolent way to change the world?” The assumption seemed to be that the presenter believed that there was not. Needless to say, I was very intrigued. The speaker wrapped up quickly after some very thought provoking insight. With no other hands in the air, I timidly raised my own, certain that my disdain for the use of violence would turn the crowd against me and provoke another Nazareth experience, where Jesus was run out of town and nearly driven off a cliff. My entire diatribe was summed up in my final query to the audience; has there been a violent struggle that has succeeded in changing the world? Quite a few respondents were very passionate about their right to use violence, and rightly so, but I did not find the answer I was looking for (a few folks summarily mentioned the Russian Revolution, but I am not nearly familiar enough with that history).

Despite the fallout from my deviation from that particular ideology, the rest of the weekend went very well. I was treated to the best nightlife Melbourne had to offer, as well as the stimulating conversation that accompanies that. In Melbourne, the closest I came to seeing another American occurred when I passed by an Aussie dressed up in an American Army ACU uniform at a bar my last night there (still haven’t figured that one out). I did, however, meet a few Americans while I was still at the University of Sydney. One was very supportive and voiced her appreciation for IVAW’s work. Another was critical, but graciously objective; we talked about why I was there and how important it is to cross pollinate ideas and strategy across national boundaries if we really want to see an end to the wars and to bring our brothers and sisters home. By the time we had finished talking, she thanked me for my service (both in the Army and my current line of work) and we parted only after she relayed to me her renewed confidence in the anti-war movement. One more heart and mind won, one step closer to mission accomplishment.