I actually believe the protests this weekend made an impact. That's pleasantly surprising to me, really. I don't know about you, but I grew up with the impression that the antiwar protests of the 60's had a monumental effect on US pop-culture, but never came close to actually effecting US foreign policy. So, in that sense, these protests made a "difference." Whatever your opinion might be about the nature of that difference - whether its good or bad for America and the state of Humanity – it’s still a historic moment.

It’s historic for another reason too. The BBC collecting digital pictures from around the world – that was just the tip of the iceberg. I’m a news and information junkie. I’ve been collecting, collating, and analyzing “news,” blog postings, and discussion board conversations for years, and I’ve never seen an issue with as much resonance online as the possibility of this war. These protests were not organized; They were networked.

Everything buzzed and clicked on Saturday. It was amazing.

What made it most impressive though was that these protesters – not just here in Portland, but globally – were not all stoned-out anarchists and fringe communists. For once those people were in a severe minority of the protestors. Take a look at the pictures and you’ll see that most of the people out there were normal, well-informed people who have just had enough.

There are dangers in the world, we all realize that, but there are also ideals. The question is this: Do we abandon our ideals to confront the dangers? Or, conversely, do we ignore the dangers to pursue the ideals? Isn't there a middle ground here, and if so what is it?

America is in a difficult place right now. How can we believe in ideals? Hell, we don’t even have a dream anymore. The “American Dream” is a punchline. I don’t believe it has to be that way, and I don’t believe a war or even a skyrocketing stock market is going to fix it.

I know that this sounds naive and optimistic but what’s our alternative? Does anyone really and truly believe that taking control of Iraq is going to stop someone from harming the US if they're willing to die to do so? Does anyone believe that war is a GOOD idea for stability in the region and around the globe? Those in our government who support war don’t just support a war in Iraq. Iraq is just the first on a list. A list of wars. When did this happen to us? Remember when the United States was a symbol of democracy, freedom, and peace?

Remember peace? It’s not just a word. For a long time before the 1960’s, peace was an ideology (Some might say for a very long time before the 60’s. Some might also say it was much more than just an ideology). Regardless of it’s origin, peace was approached not as an impossible dream but as a goal yet to be achieved.

People used to talk about the last war. Can you even imagine that? Once upon a time, the last war was one that had already been fought. Not anymore. Now we’re lucky if we can even envision such a thing.

I won’t delve into the histories of the League of Nations and Wilson’s 14 points, they should be common knowledge. But I will say this: The United Nations exists for a reason. Too few recall what that reason is. To feed the hungry, to clothe and house the poor, to promote democracy and free thought around the world. Yes all of those, but they came later. First and foremost UN exists to end the scourge of war.

War, like peace, is not just a word. International coalitions. Regime change. Transitional governments. Military occupation. Do these euphemisms make anyone believe that a generation of human beings will not be permanently scarred by war? An entire global generation will learn the lesson: “War is evil, but sometimes it’s justified.” That’s not the only lesson they’ll learn. They’ll also learn to hate. The children of the victors will learn to hate the children of the defeated. And the children of the defeated will learn to hate the children of the victors. Will these children act on these lessons? Are we giving them an alternative?

History has taught us that war and isolation breeds tyrants. How long can we sanction and punish a nation before its people vow to destroy us and all that we claim to stand for? We’ve seen this before. We could have stopped it before, but we didn’t. And the peace was lost. Now some people are trying to get it back. I still have hope that they can.

Lastly, I have something to say about patriotism. I am a patriot. I love this damn country, warts and all. I was willing to die for the Constitution when I served in the military, and I’m still willing to die for it. More than that, I’m willing to see my neighbors die for it; My family too (I know that they love America as much as I do). That is what it means to be a patriot. We will die – not kill – to protect the freedom of others. Even if those others are different from us.

Given the choice of living in an America that believes that some are more deserving of freedom than others, or living in an America where my life, or the life of someone I love is at risk of being lost because of a random terrorist attack, I’ll take the latter. People die everyday, we can’t stop that no matter what laws we pass or how many bombs we drop.

Freedom – and all the risks that come with it – is our heritage. This is America, and anyone who doesn’t like it can leave. After all, it's a free country.

Labels: activism, iraq, maine, portland