The Revolutionary War of America (1775 – 1783) against the British Empire was a major pivotal moment in history.
Thomas Jefferson played a role in his expression of passion, with the infamous quote – “Give me Liberty, or give me Death”. [EDITOR NOTE: This is incorrect, Patrick Henry was the man who utters that quote on March 23, 1775. My apologies.] But the real people of passion were those men (and women) of the Continental Army — they were the ones who sacrificed portions of their lives to be a part of a common cause. But it would have been a lost cause if it wasn’t for George Washington.
Unlike most of the autocrats in Philadelphia (and elsewhere) who are primarily concerned with the laws, rights of the people, and the difficult challenge in starting up a nation, it was George Washington who kept the nation together by caring for his men, and giving them sufficient rewards in exchange for their sacrifices.
Several years of your life, without working on your own farms, or businesses, can be very devastating for a person, even when the mission is just. It is a bigger cost when lives are sacrificed — 25,000 Americans Revolutionaries alone.
Here is a perfect moment to explain the selfish nature of humans. At the end of 1776, even with the victory in the Battle of Trenton — the first of many critical victories that George Washington was able to manage — the vast majority of Washington’s men were to be released from service. Washington desperately needs those men to continue the battle against Britain. [Source: The History Channel]
Naturally, Washington tried to convince them by using pride, passion, and honor for the new nation. Even a better future for themselves and their children. Not one man budged in volunteering again in face of this argument. But once Washington spoke of the benefits that better fit the needs of those men — the pay and benefit increases — volunteers for the re-enlistment finally stepped forward.
This would have not happened if Washington only express the need to be passionate to the cause, no matter how just it seems to us today. Ridor is advocating this very honor for the current students of Gallaudet University to protest the selection of its current president by means of LOA (Leave of Absence), without any tangable benefits for the same students.
Unlike what everyone would like to believe — changes occurs at a very slow pace, even with a new president at the helm. Al Simone’s efforts to improve quality of education and financial stability at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) only started to bear fruit after five years. For the students, like myself, from 1992 to 1997, there were very little direct benefit as Al Simone spent his time setting up the frameworks for the fruit to be harvested. Renovations, upgrades of the apartments, better buildings, bigger endowments, better scholarships, better teachers, and so on. All started to happens after five years of planting the seeds.
So, benefits by having a new president (which would require a new search by a new commission, if this was to be properly done) will not bear much fruit for the vast majority of current students at Gallaudet. In other words, life at Gallaudet will remain mostly the same after the changes, thus the minimal direct benefit for the protesters.
[Note: Gallaudet University is witnessing a protest against its newly elected president, Dr. Jane K. Fernandes , by a variety of organizations, primarly Facility Staff Students Alumni (FSSA), within the community.]
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George Washington was very much loved for one particular reason — he was there to support his men, and he gave them direct benefits. Winter of 1777 was very brutal at Valley Forge. It was Washington who were seen working his tail off trying to get provisions for his men. Money, food, clothing, blankets, shelters are all scraped together by Washington as he strives to keep his men together, alive, and healthy. Despite his efforts, several men died each day due to starvation and disease.
By pushing the students to take that huge sacrifice in their education by applying for LOA, Ridor is dooming some of these students to a life of ‘career death’ — the failure to achieve the most in their lives as they could possibly can. The difference between being a burger flipper, and a well-respected executive could easily come down to the student’s inability to return to college to further their education.
After all, there is a huge risk that Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) may decide to withdraw their support. Scholarship may dry up. Grants and Loans may be restrictive. Enrollments may be closed. This person may start a family. This person may get a job 3,000 miles away. In a nutshell, life happens, and it is not an easy thing to return back to college, no matter how intense the desire may be.
There is a huge risk in doing LOA for political purposes. What is the reward for that person? Pride? Passion? Glory? That is considered as intangibles, not a direct benefit.
Until FSSA consider the students’ sacrifices, and consider the appropriate rewards for those students making this huge commitment, this sacrifice will be wasted, as the message will not be carried out by anything larger than a fringe group. This will results in minimal impact on this political situation at Gallaudet University.
