We don’t think we’re to blame for Venezuela, and the government’s goal is to keep us thinking just that.
Without feeling responsible for our military’s action abroad, we allow the government to act undemocratically without our consent or approval. Both Republican and Democrat presidents take advantage of this, so it takes grassroots movements such as those coming out of universities to make our government accountable to the people again.
On Jan. 3, the U.S. military bombed Caracas, Venezuela and captured President Maduro and his wife.
While President Trump celebrates the operation, not every American is on board. Online polls from YouGov and The Economist suggest 45% of the nation does not believe the attack was justified, compared to 34% that do.
The results of the poll demonstrate a strong partisan divide on this issue, with as few as 6% of democrats polled approving of the President’s actions in Venezuela. This low approval rating is echoed by a livid social media response, with many outcries in left-leaning online spaces.
Shortly after the operation, I found myself on these left-leaning spaces online. Across all the comments, posts, and videos I’d seen, I noticed one thought carried through nearly all of them: “This wasn’t us, this was Trump.”
The statement makes sense: this military action was taken by a president voted in on promises of peace, with no approval from Congress. This wasn’t “we the people” taking action against Venezuela, it was the decision of one rogue administration.
The trouble is, in the last decade, all our presidents have taken military action without public or congressional approval. Biden continued to support Israel despite outcries from many Democrat voters. According to MSN, Obama dropped nearly 26,000 bombs in 2016 without congressional approval.
Democrats aren’t an anti-war party. No presidential candidate in the 2024 election was going to end military aid to Israel. No candidate was going to lower our military budget substantially. Our military action is not something that “we the people” are represented for.
Add this to the other ways in which our political system is disenfranchising American voters, and it seems natural to lay all the blame on our President and move on. Why should we accept any responsibility for something out of our control?
This sentiment is something that makes the administration’s job easier. There’s no need to find the consent of the American people for military action when Americans don’t feel responsible for those actions.
While there have been protests, there haven’t been enough to discourage the administration. And frankly, there’s been fewer than I’ve expected.
If you oppose any of our nation’s military actions abroad, it’s important to take a step back from the ritualistic partisan name-calling and finger-pointing and take a look at the bigger picture. We cannot hold our leaders accountable under our current political systems.
So, if our current systems are incapable of holding leaders accountable, but giving in is only hurting us, what can we do? The only thing we really can do is build up our grassroots political movements.
Students have nearly always been at the forefront of political movements in the past 50 years. From the end of apartheid in South Africa to the end of the Vietnam War, student organizing has had a massive effect on the state of the world.
These movements can affect change because they don’t rely on the government to change itself. By working outside of the systems with boycotts, organized protests, and civil disobedience, these movements put real pressure on U.S. leadership.
I’m not telling you to go outside in the dead of winter and sit out of your classes. Any action alone is not enough to have our voices heard. This is why we need to start communicating with others whose values align and build groups of motivated, frustrated people.
Only after these groups are made strong can we reestablish accountability in our government.
Obama dropped more than 26K bombs on 7 countries without congressional approval in 2016. Here’s how
Trump gets boost from first major poll of Venezuelans since Maduro capture
Most Americans oppose military involvement in Venezuela | YouGov
