Dana already mentioned her discomfort yesterday at joining in on protests of late. In the run-up to the war, I attended every major protest in New York and D.C., which were invigorating events filled with thousands of Americans from all walks of life. After a long break, I attended an anti-war protest here in D.C. last fall, and the only folks who came out were the old peacenik and socialist types, the true believers that would probably be there no matter what the situation in Iraq. My thoughts then were similar to Paul's -- the protests have gotten pretty absurd, and people are probably better off voicing their opinion about the Iraq War in other ways.
But I have to say that yesterday I was more than a little sad that there weren't thousands of Americans -- myself included -- out in the streets demonstrating their distaste with the war in very visible ways. Far more Americans have turned against the war over those past five years, but you wouldn't have known it by walking down the street here in D.C. yesterday. Part of me still holds onto the idea that visible, public outcry has relevance, and wishes that all of us were out there today joining in with the motley crew still holding vigil five years later.
--Kate Sheppard
