The "activist" sign seen at right has been on that barn for quite awhile. I've seen a few others (albeit smaller) crop up at roadsides too. At first, they seem all noble and neo-60s protest like. After a bit of reflection, however, I thought the statement quite fatuous. Who doesn't want the "war" to stop? Is anyone saying "woohoo! I hope the killing goes on without any discernible change!"?No. Even the most hawkish people I know (and there are a few) also want to stop the war. President Bush wants to stop the war. The big difference is how. He just wants to stop when Iraq is strong enough itself to stand against the internal terrorist pressures. The same for Afghanistan. Bush doesn't want perpetual fighting. He wants it over too. The trouble for many folks is that he's defined a criteria by which to decide when it's over.
The neo-hippy left, with their simplistic motto of "stop the war" usually don't like any criteria. They advocate simply stopping the war by bringing all our troops home and leaving Iraq to whatever wolves are waiting for it. The assumption, I guess, is that the "war" only exists because we are there. If we leave, peace will break out. A lovely, though naive, view.
When I was in eighth grade, a tough-guy student named Brad was bullying his fellow students. This wasn't unusual for Brad. Richard stood up to Brad and told him to stop. Brad knew that a brawl in the halls would work against him, so challenged Richard to a fight in the woods across from the school. A few of us came to see if a fight would actually occur. (most were only threats) Richard was no powerhouse, but felt duty-bound to show up. Brad punched Richard hard, making his lip bleed. Richard tried to reason with Brad. Blood had been drawn, Brad's "honor" satisfied, could they call it off now? No. Brad pummeled Richard. To his credit, Richard gave pacifism an honest try. He never punched back and kept appealing to honor. "I'm not fighting back. Can you really hit someone who won't hit back?" Brad could, and did. His anger wasn't satisfied until poor Richard lay face-down in the dust. None of us curious nerds were in a position to do anything.
Richard thought he could end the fight by not participating in it. He was sorely mistaken. A bully intent on a fight will keep right on pummeling. If you don't hit back, he's guaranteed to win.
We could bring all our troops home in a few weeks, and abandon Iraq and Afghanistan. We could feel all noble, like Richard did, but those who hate America will not stop hating us. Just because we stopped deploying our troops, it does not mean they'll disarm and start selling used cars or vacuum cleaners. They'll keep on fighting. If not in Iraq, the perhaps here. Why is having Americans die in America better?
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