I’ve always asked myself this question, but it became particularly relevant when I heard about today’s anti war protest run by United for Peace. Don’t get me wrong, I’m generally against this war (though I appreciate the complexity of the situation we are in right now and don’t think that a simple “let’s just leave” solution is optimal), but I can’t for the life of me figure out why people would line up and protest the war today.
With only 31% of Americans supporting Bush and the war, what does this protest hope to accomplish? I see the value in hitting the streets when the cause is little known, but come on, an anti-war protest now? Isn’t that too little too late?
An example of a protest that I think worked wonderfully was when a group of concerned citizens stood outside a restaurant and handed out flyers informing the populous that the restaurateur was underpaying his delivery men and treating them as indentured servants. I didn’t know about this at the time, so the protest served to draw my attention to a problem that I can get on board with. To this day, I don’t go to this restaurant, despite the tasty food (I’m not identifying the restaurant as that would give out too much personal information). But had this same problem been ongoing for 5 years on a international level, the protest would have been mere ego-masturbation.
I’m sure the protesters mean well, but there is far better use of their time than standing on the streets (of what is a VERY liberal city) and telling people that already agree with them that the war is bad. How about sending your Congressman a letter about your feelings? How about donating your time to a VA hospital? How about volunteering for your favorite candidate? Any of these would serve the general public better.
The point is that next time you decide to take to the streets, think about what impact you’re actually going to have. If it’s nill, than stay home.
If you think you have a good reason to protest, leave me a comment and let me know.
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