This post is actually a response to a question in the previous post's comments. It got so long that I decided it would be better to just post it on it's own.

"Don't you think it's quite ironic though that people are protesting the very thing that earned them the right and freedom to assemble in public and protest?"

I don't agree that is what they are doing. They aren't protesting democracy. They aren't protesting our government, they are protesting the current manifestation of our government. They are protesting the way our government is acting right now.

Yes, Saddam is a horrible man who has done horrible things, but two wrongs do not make a right. If my students misbehave it is NOT okay for me to slap them in the face. There are alternative ways of solving conflicts. The current administration is interested in way more than the "good of the Iraqi people" and so didn't WANT to find or use those methods. That is what I am protesting. (I can't speak for anyone but myself.)

There is nothing about the current actions of our government that has given me freedom of speech. In fact, the government and many of its supporters are telling me that I shouldn't be speaking my mind. That I should give up protesting something I believe is wrong just because it's already being done.

No, way. I think that the fact that we are already bombing is all the more reason to speak out. The actuality of our actions is even more appalling to me than the potential we were facing before. I believe that our politicians have made a mistake. And I am not going to allow them to get off the hook by ignoring it, much less condoning it.

If you were refering to protesting against the soldiers, I am not doing that. Although they volunteered to join the army, they did so in a time of peace and with little thought beyond the education and benefits that were promised them. Many were still basically children when they signed up and I don't blame them for what they are doing now. I blame the politicians sitting in their million dollar mansions, watching the war on CNN. I greatly admire the bravery of those men and women who are willing to die for what they believe is right. I saw the terror in the eyes of those POWS yesterday.

Do I think it's ironic that people are protesting our government? No. That is what our government was based on - the individual's right to disagree in a public and vocal manner. Do I find it ironic that those of us who are exercising our constitutional right are being called un-American? Yes. Do I think it's ironic that we are going against the UN to punish someone for going against the UN? Yes.
There are many things about this war that I find ironic and sad and frightening. The existence of protests is not one of them.

Peace be with us all.