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Protesting is not about patriotism, or the lack of it The protest machine is in motion - from Rome to Roanoke, Berlin to Berkeley. Demonstrations are in full swing at the downtown Plaza in Ashland, and in Vogel Plaza in Medford. Oddly, though there are opposing sides in the protestations and splintered groups within demonstrations, there is a common thread. All would like to avoid war, yet all agree that Saddam Hussein is a despotic leader who must be reckoned with. The question is: What is the right message? There are those who suggest that the president must be supported at all costs, and war, although disagreeable, is just and inevitable. Within that group, there is a dangerous faction that insists any sign of non-support is unpatriotic. On the other side of the demonstration road we find those who believe that the war must be opposed at all costs - or nearly at all costs. Within that group, as evidenced recently in the Plaza, there are those who drive up the costs. An American flag was burned. As we drift nearer to the brink of war, we must assess the clear dangers to America with an attack on Iraq, or the wisdom of doing so without U.N. backing, or the consequences of not attacking at all. Certainly, high on the radar if we invade is that many will die. American soldiers will die. Iraqi soldiers will die. Innocent Iraqi citizens will die. And worst of all, children will die. And, how will we confine a war to Iraq in light of the tinderbox that is the Middle East? The possibility that many others will die is a very real concern. Whatever stability now exists will be severely threatened. If the U.N. fails to concur with America's policy on Iraq, another degree of separation will be created with our traditional allies. Not attacking - which more and more every day seems not even an option being considered in the White House - is gaining some traction in Iraq. Saddam, despite his evil-eyed manner, is actually making concessions. How bad can the consequences of world pressure and weapons inspectors be? The unalterable fact is, right now, no one is dying. Protesting is a right of all citizens. That right is guaranteed us in the Bill of Rights. And those same framers who penned our great document knew of civil disobedience - like burning a flag, or dumping British tea in the harbor. Attacking Iraq has become a personal war of President Bush, consequently more protests will come, more flags will be burned. Think hard if you think it's unpatriotic. The dead don't protest. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -