Sunday, March 18, 2007

The Glory of American Frustration

Battle fatigue is growing, not in Iraq, but here at home. Yesterday, thousands of protesters (no more than 30,000 by the rosiest estimates, but more likely only half that) were in Washington being heckled by thousands of counter-demonstrators.

Four years ago, over 200,000 were there trying to head off the war as part of an estimated 36 million people doing the same around the world.

A handful of people in the White House, along with party lackeys in Congress, are waging this war against the will of the American majority and their representatives.

On the Sunday talk shows, they will all drone on to score political points but, when the work week starts, little will happen.

As anger grows, we should remind ourselves we are witnessing one of the glories of democracy. Almost anywhere else in the world, this kind of frustration would lead to rioting, bloodshed and armed coups. Here we keep talking.

Eternal vigilance may be the price of liberty, but patient, persistent and peaceful opposition is the way we keep it. If only we could export that to Iraq...

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