This statement was given by the president of Students for a Democratic Society, Paul Porter. It was given in 1965 at the close of their march on Washington in protest of the war in Vietnam. Similar to many activists of this period, Porter was arguing that the United States was acting in direct contradiction to our country’s democratic ideals in our involvement with this war. It was most opposed to the idea that the US was not defending freedom, but rather was promoting and continuing an imperialistic regime. While this call to action was aimed primarily at students, it was a larger call to action aimed at establishing a new level of political engagement.
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