Washington, D.C. was the first ground for the anti-war protesters. On Sept. 29, a protest originally planned to criticize the World Bank and Globalism instantaneously repackaged itself with anti-war colors. Flipping the posters that read, "World Bank kills," the protesters wrote "America is the Problem." Within a matter of days and weeks, the anti-war movement spread throughout the country, carried out by people like August Hoppler, a student at UC Berkeley, who said, "America deserved the attack."
It is here that one should note who the anti-war protesters are. Reasonable people, Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals can disagree on a variety of issues ranging from abortion to tax cuts. There are even some reasonable anti-war advocates such as Scott Simon, the host of NPR's weekend edition, who subscribes to pacifism but also points out the flaws of the movement. He notes, "Many of the activists I have seen trying to rouse opposition to today's war against terrorism remind me of a Halloween parade. They put on old, familiar-looking protest masks - against American imperialism, oppression and violence - that bear no resemblance to the real demons haunting us now."
Unfortunately though, the majority that make up the anti-war movement is neither pragmatic nor reasonable. They are the extreme Leftists and ignorant simpletons who believe that opposing the war on terrorism is the equivalent of criticizing America's mistakes since the beginning of the Cold War. They are the likes of Howard Zinn who claim America is waging terrorism against the Taliban's Afghanistan. In fact, their "blame the U.S. for the tragedies" rationale is no different than what Saddam Hussein reportedly said, that the "American Cowboy deserved it." Indeed, the supporters of this cause are not your average Democrats or liberals who understand the difference between debate and radicalism. When Congress passed the use-of-force resolution last month, it was passed overwhelmingly in both chambers. Simply put, the bill passed thanks to a long list of pro-war liberals and Democrats such as Tom Daschle, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.
Why then are the radicals still bent on refusing to see reality? Perhaps, they never heard of Mary Melendez. She called her husband from the 94th floor of the World Trade Center. "Don't get scared," Meldez said to her husband while crying. "I don't know if I can leave." Maybe the protesters missed the tale of one Brooklyn firefighter. He said, "If it falls, it's falling this way, and I'm going the same way. Because I got four guys who, as far as I know, are gone . If they're in there, we're going in for them." Or they could have forgotten about Leslie Dilon speaking of her husband, "He was all I had. Just me, him and my sister. Both my parents have passed." Needless to say, not one of these victims ever deserved the horrors of Sept. 11.
On a larger note, one can comprehend the protesters' case against this war. It is, at heart, a matter of being disgusted with the reality that lives on both sides will be lost. When considering how many people in the world die from violence, to keep adding to that statistic seems ludicrous to say the least. Most importantly, many anti-war protesters also point out the diminishing humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan due to the war.
Nevertheless, it is exactly this kind of naivet that most Americans are fighting against. While those who support the war detest the fact that lives will be lost, they are also determined on warning what the existence of such terrorists does to humanity. Furthermore, if the issue of war were strictly a moral debate, the supporters of the war would have won and gone home. Didn't America deserve to be attacked for its dominance over the world? Isn't America also committing terrorism by conducting this war? Of course not. To argue so one must be a savage. Moreover, when questions like these are asked, it invariably says a great deal about the person doing the asking. Fortunately, most Americans by now know beyond all doubts that America is right to counter-attack.
It is no coincidence in today's America that the anti-war protesters are alone in their fight against the war on terrorism. It is about time that the simple-minded anti-war rhetoric is not greeted with jubilation. On the same token, the anti-war advocates should recognize the difference between al-Qaeda and the United States. For too many men and women in America, the anti-war argument is a life saver just for themselves.
Sources include: Newsweek, Time , The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Chicago Tribune
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