This is not to say that some of their grievances aren’t
legitimate. It is only to say that what they were really protesting was the man
that most of the American people voted for just over a year ago. (None of the
polls indicating how unpopular he now is, really matters. What matters is that
he is the democratically elected president of the United States.)
Had the protest been about the heavy-handed way that ICE
operated over the last year, or the rising cost of living, or the chaos at TSA
security checkpoints at airports, I would understand. Although clearly there is
enough blame to go around on both sides of the political aisle.
But the fact that they included opposition to the war in
Iran is what makes me believe that these protesters were, at best,
insufficiently informed about the moral justification for this war. That
ignorance, combined with the war’s effect on the economy, the talking points of
their favored politicians, sympathetic media, and assorted celebrities, is
clearly why they feel this way.
With all of these negative things happening in their lives,
‘the hated man at the top’ becomes the favored target for everything that is
wrong in their world. It doesn’t take much to lead ordinary citizens with good
intentions to oppose a war under those circumstances.
The comments of protesters being interviewed are almost
verbatim the same as the talking points of Democrats in Congress and their
cheering section in the mainstream media.
There is no reasoning with an angry person who sees his
pocketbook affected by a war he believes is either unjust or none of our
business. A war they have been convinced by the above-mentioned influencers is
unwinnable; we had no business entering; and will only make things worse.
Their failure to understand what is really at stake is why
good people can end up supporting bad decisions.
(That is in fact my only criticism of the president with
respect to this war. The failure to articulate exactly why we are are there.
For which there are clear and unambiguous moral reasons. And for which there
are clear and unambiguous strategic reasons as well - having to do with our
security and the security of one of our most important allies, the state of
Israel.)
Let us look at some of the anti-war talking points. Is the
war really unwinnable? The argument might be that you cannot destroy an idea.
Especially one rooted in a theology that compels Iran to behave as it does. No
matter how much we devastate them, they will never give up. Their very survival
- even it becomes under “stone age” conditions - would be seen by them as a
victory. And if the war ends and the U.S. leaves, they will begin to rebuild
and eventually restore themselves to what they were before the war. And beyond.
It’s true that you can’t kill an idea. But ...
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