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'Find Passion, Take Action'

Urgent Message from Nobel Laureate Jody Williams

"Don't just whine about something," urged Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace laureate, speaking at the Oct. 10 President's Lecture. "Take action to change it and make it better. You have every right and responsibility to take an active role in creating the world you want to live in."

Seated casually, eschewing a podium, because "I'm chatting, not lecturing," Williams shared her views on "how we can make the world a little bit better for everyone," including her passion for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which led to her Nobel Prize.

Banning landmines was a "no-brainer" for her, Williams said. Calling them "weapons of mass destruction in slow motion," she detailed the devastating effects of landmines after a war is over, saying, "The landmine is eternally prepared to take victims, and it cannot tell the difference between a soldier and a civilian."

Williams was founding coordinator of the ICBL, oversaw its expansion to include more than 1,300 organizations in 85 countries, and helped attain its goal of an international treaty banning landmines in 1997. To date, 141 countries have signed the treaty, but the United States is not among them.

"Under Clinton," Williams stated, "when push came to shove, he backed down to the military" and did not sign the treaty. She said that President Bush is now the only person who can do anything to bring the United States on board, but "I would be shocked if he did."

Williams said that part of the purpose of her talks is helping Americans understand that "sometimes -- not always -- our values of justice, democracy, etc. are not what we do abroad." Declaring that there is a gap between the mythology and the reality of American values, she said, "We believe that dissent is the basis of our freedom, but we're not supposed to question our government or our military in today's America." She stated that in the 11 countries she has visited recently, there is an increasing fear of the United States, adding, "I know it's hard to hear these things. It's not a happy message."

"I believe we need to reclaim our country," Williams said, "and the only way to do that is to educate ourselves."

She sees control of the U.S. media as one of today's most important issues. "Stop believing that what you see on TV and read in the newspapers is true," Williams implored. "It's not about educating Americans -- it's about creating a giant consumer market. Unless we reclaim the media as an outlet of educating citizens, we are doomed." The hope of the country, she asserted, is to start asking "why?"

Williams offered an encouraging word for those students who are struggling to find direction. "Sometimes it's hard to know what to do with your life," she said, "but don't believe that the first job you have after college marks you for life."

Williams changed her major five times; she worked as an oral surgeon's assistant, a teacher, and a temporary secretary; and went back to school twice. A leaflet titled El Salvador, Another Vietnam? transformed her life. It invited her to hear a "passionate man from a tiny country" describing the wrongs of U.S. involvement in El Salvador. "From that day forward, I've been an activist," Williams proclaimed. "I've worked 20 years for change. And I won the Nobel Prize. Not bad for an ordinary person from a small town in Vermont."

Anyone can make a difference in the world, Williams declared. "It's possible to contribute to change with one hour per month. Just find your passion and take action."

Williams was the seventh Nobel Peace Prize winner to speak in the President's Lecture Series since 1999. Her visit was sponsored by Chico Performances, KPAY Radio, the Enterprise-Record, KCHO Radio, Butte Community College, Associated Students, the City of Chico, and the Offices of the Provost and the President at CSU, Chico.

Francine Gair