December 1, 2004
-
Mike Honda speaks at UCD
Congressman talks about politics and diversity
On one of the more frigid evenings of the year, U.S. Rep. Mike Honda spoke to a group of UC Davis students enthusiastically huddled in Olson Hall about his opinions on the current political climate, his experiences as a Japanese-American and the importance of taking action.
Honda, Representative for the 15th Congressional District in Santa Clara County, explained that throughout his career, he has tried to remember the lessons he learned growing up in a Japanese internment camp during WWII.
“I learned that no one taught me about me, that no one taught me about my community and that the government made a mistake sending me and my family to camp,” Honda said.
This experience came to the forefront again after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. As America struggled in the confusing aftermath of the tragedy, Honda focused on protecting civil liberties and making sure the same kind of blinded prejudices would not lead to internment camps for Middle Eastern citizens as well.
“When 9/11 happened, everything in my life came to a focal point: 9/11, sneak attack, thousands of people died. Pearl Harbor, sneak attack, thousands of people died,” he said.
Honda encouraged students to realize that even in the world of politics, what is popular is not necessarily “right.” He used the Iraq war as an example of something that was relatively popular, but not a logical or well planned decision.
“We went in half-cocked, half-baked and unprepared,” he said. “Anyway you cut it, we shouldn’t have gone to war, especially without a plan for development in Iraq.”
Honda was one of the three congressmen who voted against the war.
During the question-and-answer period, students expressed their concerns about rising university tuition. Having been a high-school teacher and vice principal for years, Honda explained that when money is taken from the federal government, in the form of tax cuts for example, local communities ultimately pay for it.
“You guys not only have higher tuition, but you also have higher interests to pay off, and jobs aren’t paying as well,” he said.
To combat this trend, Honda said Americans need to focus on civil education and voting. He noted that the President won only with 51 percent of the popular vote, and that those who want change should stand up and make it happen.
Yuko Query and Kiyomi Yamamoto, student co-coordinators of the event, saw the talk as a conclusion to their own hard work and tenacity as leaders of the Japanese-American community on campus.
The Japanese American Student Society, original sponsor of the event, decided to withdraw its support only two weeks before Honda was scheduled to speak, leaving Query and Yamamoto scrambling to find new sponsors.
According to Query, members of JASS decided not to sponsor the event because they thought the event would be too political for a campus social club to support. Originally, with JASS’s sponsorship, the event was designed to focus more on cultural issues.
Fortunately, Isao Fujimoto, professor of Asian American Studies, and the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association gave their support to make the event possible.
“We didn’t want to give up the event because it was too valuable,” Query said. “I still can’t believe we actually got him here.”
———————————————————————-
———————————————————————-
