They're having another protest this afternoon.
I'm against a war in Iraq for all sorts of reasons, but I can't even participate in protests because I don't agree with their reasons, either. No, it isn't about anti-Arab or anti-Muslim sentiment. No, it isn't about oil. There are actually legitimate reasons to do this (or at least as legitimate as it gets in the international arena), and I'm sure President Bush has the best intentions.

I just don't happen to agree with him. I'm afraid our president just doesn't inspire the sort of confidence one would like—we're supposed to be able to trust our elected representatives to exercise independent judgement, based on knowledge and expertise we don't have. The Founders never intended to create a presidency that would vascilate according to public option. However, while Bush comes across as friendly and well-meaning, one doesn't really want to leave the biggest decisions in the world to him.

Another thing that annoys me is all this irrational anti-French sentiment. Can we really blame the French government for acting in its own best interests? If that's really such a crime, than our own government is equally guilty. And, whatever self-interested reasons France may have, the fact remains that their vote and veto in the Security Council reflects anti-war sentiment throughout the world.

It's just as irrational as United States citizens turning anti-American—there's a big difference between America and her current leadership, and if frustration with one president turns us off our own country, we're the ones who have lost something. (Putting it right up there with "I don't like politicians, so I will cleverly not vote and thereby perpetuate the status quo, which I don't like, so I will cleverly note vote...")

And now, a bumper sticker:


Not that I know the question, either. Humanity is fallible and faulty—sometimes we have to make do with the best we can come up with, even if it isn't a very good solution. Maybe a war with Iraq is as necessary as it is inevitable... but I don't have to like it.

~Erin, 12:56 PM