[ARiA]

Originally posted by Danny_C
No, I'm not a hippy.

I'd categorize myself with the group who thinks that Saddam needs to be dealt with, but that war is the wrong solution. I think war will cause more problems than it solves. I mean, there's no denying (on either side of the debate) that there would be benefits AND consequences to going to war and eliminating Saddam (the benefits depending, of course, on our success, which I think would be inevitable). Coming to a decision is a matter of weighing those benefits against those consequences. I don't think any advocate of war believes that there won't be consequences, and I don't believe any intelligent protester thinks Iraq is better off with Saddam Hussein in power.

My general philosophy is that people act barbaric because they're uneducated, impoverished, brainwashed, or desperate. If we want to eliminate terrorism, which I believe is at the root of the positive aspect of going to war, then I believe we need to deal with what causes that behavior. If people are starving, we should try to feed them. If people are brainwashed or uneducated, we should try to educate them. If people are desperate, and believe we are the cause of their anguish, then we need to launch a PR attack rather than a missile attack. Making people more impoverished through sanctions, or more uneducated because we've ruined an economy, or more desperate because American bombs are dropping all around them is going to spur them to even more drastic action. In fact, not only do I think peaceful solutions are possible (and would do more to make us safer from terrorism), but they would be cheaper than going to war.

Besides all that, going to war right now is going to paint a big target on the U.S. If anything goes wrong, the U.S. will be to blame. If everything goes right, but hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians are killed in the process, then the U.S. will be held responsible. Right now more than ever, it's common sense that we need allies more than we need enemies. And I only see our list of enemies growing (and our allies growing more wary of us).

I agree!
I went to listen to what people had to say about it. I wasn't there to rally with a sign. I went, I listened, I left.
some people had intelligent things to say some didn't... but everyone had the chance to say what they felt, what they were thinking and they were heard. it makes a difference if the people you are representing/protecting dont agree with what you are doing.