One, two, three, four
- why don’t we protest anymore?

Imagine being a college student at a time when an unpopular war is being fought overseas led by an increasingly unpopular president whose rationale for going to war is murky at best.

Ah, the '60s. What a unique decade.

It was an era when the dissent of college students was heard and felt everywhere you went. Protests raged on campuses across the country as the younger generation told the older generation they were mad as hell and they weren't going to take it anymore. The results were sometimes bloody.

It's hard to imagine today's college student facing down an armed militia invading the campus square.

What's the difference? Is today's college student made of weaker stuff? Is the Iraq war that much different than Vietnam? There was a brief moment of protest when the war first began, but this war has gone largely unprotested by the youth of this country.

Despite some damning similarities, there are differences between these two wars. For one, there is no draft. Today 's college students do not have to worry about being conscripted against their will. That being said, it's hard to imagine today's college student putting up too much of a fight even if there was a draft. Oh, sure, there'd be whining, but whining is not the same thing as righteously indignant protest.

Also, it can be argued that there have been moments where the Iraq War lacks the moral ambiguity of Vietnam. There are people who opposed the war from the beginning, but the Bush administration did a remarkable job of convincing the majority of the country that Iraq was connected to the attacks of 9/11. Of course, the administration now admits there was no link while simultaneously chastising anyone who implies they ever made such a link in the first place.

Increasingly, Americans are opposed to this war. Gallup polls show that 61 percent of Americans are against it, and a Pew Institute poll states that 68 percent of Americans believe the Iraq War is the primary reason that our country is no longer respected around the world.

It is a little baffling that this rising tide of dissatisfaction isn't translating into an increased vocal dissent.

Look, I'm as cynical about the movements we saw during the '60s as anyone. It was pretty convenient that a byproduct of the anti-Vietnam movement was being able to partake in free love and the Timothy Leary drug culture as well. Ultimately, the '60s were a lot of sound and fury, which slowly built to the moment when the hippies became yuppies and repackaged the Volkswagon Beetle to sell to us for $30,000 dollars apiece.

But at its core, there was real anger over a war that they felt was unjust. Student newspapers of that day talked about real issues, and the writers had real opinions about what was going on. Something has changed in today's students. Cynicism has led to political disassociation, which has, in turn, led to apathy.

I'm not saying that massive organized protests are the answer. But if we don't stand up, say what we're unhappy about and what we want to do to change it, then our opportunity to make our mark on this country may just pass us by.

Whatever you think about what's going on, it's time to start caring again.

— Dylan Biles is editor of the News- Register and a journalism major.