Saturday, January 18, 2003

Protests

The protesters are out. They've brought drums. Why, I have no idea. Is it their constitutional right to protest? Of course. The very protests highlight their lie that the anti-war voice is silenced by the government. Their belief that America is the greater threat is so ridiculous that it is difficult to even take them seriously. I had meant to write something about them but it is too tiring.

I remember the protests in 1990. I was in the Army Guard and worked on campus at the University of Michigan. It was not military friendly. I was once even called a fascist when I was in uniform on campus once. Yet that side is "open minded." Anyway, one big protest was heading downtown when I was walking around so I headed into my office to call the armory and warn them. I had no idea where the protesters were going but I knew only a couple of my friends would have been there. So I told them they should lock the doors. A student who worked in the office was actually all mad that I had called! What on earth did she think they were going to do with my warning? Lock and load? The idea that I should have done nothing was ridiculous. The attitude just annoyed me. I was trying to make sure no incident took place. She thought I should have ignored my duties as a soldier.

I guess the main difference between myself and the protesters is that they believe that if only I "educated" myself, I'd see things their way. I, by contrast, think their side is incapable of learning. Even when the invasion is over and the torture chambers and weapons of mass destruction are laid bare, they will never think they were in error.