On Anti War Protest

On Anti-War Protest

“We believe that it is unconscionable to send young people in the U.S. armed forces into combat in an illegal war that serves only the interests of Big Oil. Instead of spending $200 billion of taxpayers' money on another war in the Middle East, the funds should be used to create jobs and finance education, housing, heathcare and other vital human needs.”

This last weekend saw a massive protest movement against the war in Iraq. The main focus of these marches was D.C., and to a lesser extent San Francisco, but smaller protests were held in dozens of cities across the U.S. All this you probably already know, but I like repeating stuff. Makes my entries longer.

I was on my way to lunch Saturday, when I saw the protestors here in Tallahassee. I had a question as I drove past them, and then came back and observed them. I probably would have participated, but due to bad timing was only able to watch them march back to their “staging area.”

I wondered if the protesters really wanted to stop the war in Iraq, or if their primary desire was to relive or recreate the magic of the sixties. Several held up posters attacking the United States as imperialist. Indeed, the quote above, from the website http://www.votenowar.org/, leaves only the only reasons to invade Iraq were economic in nature. Several other posters linked our intention to invade Iraq with racism, and indeed the event on Saturday was entitled Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (which cleverly spells Answer for those playing along at home).

Let me stop here for a moment to answer the obvious question. Yes, I oppose the war. I believe that our goals in Iraq are ill defined, and I certainly don’t buy the argument that we are fighting a war to liberate the Iraqi people. More to the point I am deeply troubled by the undemocratic way we seem to have settled on this course of action.

That being said, there are reasons beyond oil and racism for invading Iraq. While it is certainly enjoyable to paint all who those who support invading Iraq as greedy or racist or evil incarnate, doing so is a hindrance towards arguing with them.

The protesters I saw contained many serious people who seemed to have reasoned and well thought out arguments for opposing the war. But they were overshadowed by a small combative minority, who spoke a language of symbols alien to those they were trying to reach.

I happened to stop at a light directly in front of the rally (and coincidently enough, the capital). On the island between me and the other cars was a protester holding up, if memory serves, the standard “No Blood For Oil.” (As a footnote, please don’t try using blood for oil. Use oil for oil. And leave any blood you come across where you found it.). I listened to him berate the gentleman in the other car, who had served in the Air Force. The island protestor’s arguments about the evils of American Imperialism only roused this gentleman’s ire. Which, looked at from a certain perspective, was more gratifying than a brief discussion of why we should not invade Iraq.

Perhaps this is a minor thing, in the face of the great potential evil we face as a nation. But serious times call for serious people.

For a further, and much better outlook on this subject, I suggest Andrew M. Manis’s article Memo to the Peace Movement.

On a lighter note Frank J. Gaffney has written a piece calling on us to label France, Russia , China, Brazil, Venezuela, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia as our enemies. Why not? We don’t have enough to do with Iraq.