rawlinson – us

Where Have All The Protests Gone?

Do you remember when people were angry that we are at war? You know, 10 months ago when protesters were out in front of the US Capital and the presidents house yelling and demanding that we bring the boys back home; that we end this war? It seemed you couldn’t turn on the news or open a newspaper without seeing something about a large group out and angry about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (though the Afghan war has never drawn quite the ire the Iraq war did).

A funny thing has happened in these past 10 months. The wars didn’t end but the protests did. Odd isn’t it? All of the complaints about the wars are still valid and the expense of them in terms of money and lives just keeps going up yet the protesters have fallen silent. Maybe they’re still out there but I’m not the only person who seems to think they are missing.

Perhaps they all think President Obama is taking care of the problem. Maybe it’s the fact that there is a set date for withdrawal in Iraq now so people are sort of appeased. Maybe they think that since the news talks primarily about Afghanistan now that our force levels in Iraq are almost down to nil and we don’t have to worry about that one anymore. Or maybe they didn’t care that we were at war all that much but just hated the way the war was sold to us. Maybe the protesters were protesting President Bush and the war was just a good subject to latch onto. Or maybe the protests are still going on but the media isn’t covering it?

Have you seen any anti-war protests since Obama was elected or is everyone so busy arguing about Healthcare that they’ve forgotten that we are at war?