The Politics of the Anti-war Movement

"The Sept. 24 anti-war protest in Washington DC was hailed as a revival of a movement which had become somewhat moribund even as the quagmire in Iraq deepens with horrifying rapidity. The march brought out 300,000, by organizers' estimates—making it the largest since the start of the US invasion in March 2003. After a summer in which Cindy Sheehan's campaign to demand personal accountability from the vacationing George Bush had riveted the nation, the march brought out record numbers of military veterans and grieving families—giving the movement an unassailable moral credibility."

"But it is significant that this credibility arose from the rank-and-file marchers—while that very credibility may have been actually undermined by elements of the organizational leadership."

This story goes into policy differences between two major anti-war movements in America, United for Peace and Justice and International ANSWER.

It must be noted that the author of that piece is a member of one group, criticizing the other. Also to be noted is that the criticism is justified. While it was mainly written to be a , "those guys are worse than us" piece, the real moral of the story as I see it, is to always check out a group you consider joining for a temporary cause. Look into the true motivations and historys of those who seemingly support whatever cause or actions you may wish to participate in. It's one thing to protest a war we're engaged in, and quite another to do so along side those who are hard-core anti-American Stalinists.

Ok, so that may seem like I'm siding with the author, but actually I don't think much of his group either.. I don't believe that anyone should join a group or coalition that runs counter to your ideals because they support your cause-of-the-moment. All you end up doing is giving legitimacy to the worst elements of the groups leadership. True, I grew up indoctrinated into the anti-communist camp, but that doesn't change the fact that all previous and current nations led by communists, have been some of the most brutal towards their own people. So, unless you're a communist supporter, don't cheapen your protestations by joining with them. If they were in power, they'd arrest you for protesting against the State, as they wouldn't allow such activities.