CORNWALL, NY – It started out as one simple question: Is it time to bring the troops home from Iraq?
But what this question turned into was a lot more than expected. What evolved from this one question was a story of young people, breaking away from their town’s traditions, but unsure about where to go from there.
Cornwall, according to some of its residents, has always been conservative town. According to the US Census website, the median household income of Cornwall in 2000 was $59,537, which was $17,543 more than the national average.
And according to Sarah Ricker, 20, a Cornwall resident and student at Fordham University, the high salaries of those living in Cornwall are directly related to their political stances.
Devlin Shand, 20, a resident of Cornwall and also a student at Fordham agreed. “I would say [the people here are] strongly Republican, generally,” said Shand.
However, the younger generations in Cornwall have been moving away from their families’ conservative pasts.
“People our age living in Cornwall are mostly anti-war and probably leaning towards the left,” said Jason Gold, 20, a resident of Cornwall and student at the University of Vermont.
Ricker nodded her head in agreement. “It just seems like the younger generation is more open-minded about everything in general, like with abortion and gay rights,” said Ricker.
“[In high school], I discovered the liberal population came from specifically artists; the drama club, the band, and the chorus,” said Ricker.
All of the young people interviewed said that their views contradicted those of the majority of the town.
So back to the original question: Is it time to bring the troops home from Iraq? The unanimous answer was, not surprisingly, that it definitely is time for the troops to come home.
Those interviewed answered with responses like “absolutely,” “yes,” and “I’ve thought that for years.”
“I don’t think, based on what I know…that we are doing any good over there [in Iraq],” said Shand. “We’ve out-stayed our welcome, which wasn’t really welcome to begin with, and now being further involved is pointless.”
Ricker and Gold both also felt that there was little or no progress being made, and that the soldiers were being sent solely to die.
“The war is going nowhere,” said Gold.
“And you would think the older generations would be more anti-war, having lived through some terrible conflicts,” Ricker added.
However, despite the adamancy of their answers, these youth have taken little or no political action against the war.
They haven’t been involved with protests, they haven’t written letters to their representatives, and they haven’t even touted anti-war bumper stickers on their expensive cars.
“I couldn’t give a specific reason why [we haven’t taken any political action], aside from crazy schedules and just not really thinking of it,” said Shand. “I guess you’d say we’re passively against the whole thing, which sucks, because in a situation like this, it’s hard to affect any kind of change passively.”
Gold saw the situation similarly. “We are not motivated,” he said.
“I think it’s because we feel disconnected, and we don’t really care,” said Gold.
So what will it take to motivate the young people of Cornwall? What will it take to get them to care?
Silence. Everybody wanted a change, but nobody seemed to want to be the one to initiate it.
Ricker moved uncomfortably in her seat. Then, with a scowl on her face, she defensively spoke: “It’s not that we’re not genuinely concerned or anything like that,” said Ricker, “we want the troops back.”
“I think people are waiting for some kind of movement or protest to join, because I know I personally wouldn’t want to start the public fight against [the war],” said Shand. “If something were going on I’d be much more receptive to joining than to starting something up.”
Where do these young people go from here? They have been raised in a town that has lead them to believe in one thing, and yet they are beginning to find their own way, believing in another.
While most people in this young generation of Cornwall say that their views do contradict those of the rest of the town, nothing is being done about it. The only thing these young people can do is hope that someone will begin to lead them soon.
“I don’t see it happening as much as I would like it to,” said Shand,” but that’s not to say that we shouldn’t try.”
