The Silent Minority

The anti-war protesters have generated a flurry of media attention in the U.S. and worldwide. In the U.S. much of the public and private debate has been over the patriotism, or lack thereof, of the American protesters. Yesterday, CNN had a poll asking viewers if they thought the anti-war protesters were unpatriotic. It's a debate allright, but a near-no-brainer (NNB). First, let's celebrate the fact that in America we can protest publicly and to do so is very American. Are the protesters unpatriotic because they oppose the Administration's policy on going to war. Not a bit.

Are some of the protesters complete idiots? You bet. The ones that are against all war, and globalization, and corporations, and business in general, and just about everything American are so off the wall and predictable that they can't be taken seriously. They aren't excercising their minds. But neither are the nuts that are for war, and for EVERYTHING the US Administration says, and against protesters and protesting. Come on people, THINK!!

I try to have an open mind on this Iraq war thing. I am still in the questioning mode. I still don't really see why invading Iraq is worth it and I wonder whether it is the right thing to do. On the one hand I ask if maybe Bush knows something we don't but he can't tell us. Or, could those who say we want the oil be right? How can any of us really know what's going on? Those of us who remember Vietnam know how our Government lied to us time and again. We know we can't just trust any government or anyone.

There's a lot of us, Americans who don't see the need to attack Iraq, but we aren't so cocksure that we are ready to hit the streets.