Reply #11: this importance of protests

[welshTerrier2]

if your point is that bush is going to do whatever the hell he wants to do, i agree ... protests will not stop him ...

but if your point is that we shouldn't protest and build a movement and fight as hard as we can in opposition to this war insanity, then i disagree ... i think it can be the spark we need to draw more and more "activists" off their asses ... there is far more to be "won" by protesting the war than just stopping the war ...

and i'll add this: i remember very clearly the endless passion Vietnam war protesters held for George McGovern ... yes, i'm well aware how badly he lost ... but the greater point was there was a sense of belonging to the democratic party that many of us have not had until this last election ...

i would be deeply moved to have all Democratic leaders standing with us in the streets ... we only have unity when the "underground" is fused with the establishment and vice versa ... if our leaders do not share our values, why should we support them?

and one last point: i think it's important to send a message to the rest of the world that many in the U.S. oppose this war ... I don't want this war carried out in my name and I refuse to be silenced ... no, it may not change what happens but it's still important to fight back and to speak out ...

added on edit: btw, while i agreed that bush will have his way whether there are protests or not, this would not be the case if the size of the protests were much larger ... imagine 55 million (those who voted for Kerry) Americans taking to the streets ... if people cared enough that we're slaughtering Iraqis in their names, we could shut down this country ... it's not going to happen and that's too bad ... i would give anything to see that kind of passion ... most of us are just too damned lazy to get involved ...