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Letter to the editor

War protesters exhibiting freedom in its purest form

By DIANE STEINLE
Published July 22, 2007

Most Wednesdays, rain or shine, a small group of adults stands near the intersection of Edgewater Drive and Main Street in Dunedin. In full view of the afternoon rush-hour traffic, they hold signs and wave to passing drivers.

No, they aren't candidates for public office. And they aren't trying to attract customers to a store.

They are protesting the war in Iraq and advocating for peace in a world that has precious little of it anymore. Their signs carry messages such as "Tax breaks for the rich, body bags for the poor" and "Dissent is patriotic."

When they first started their weekly protests two years ago, they often got glares and obscene gestures from passing motorists. Now, they say, they are getting many more supportive signals from passers-by - signals like waves, thumbs up and horn honks. But the negative reactions are still there, and those who oppose the group's antiwar message are getting more aggressive, organizers report. The protesters are called traitors or communists, or their ears are assailed by obscenities shouted from passing cars.

It is ironic that passers-by who, one can assume, support the war, would be angered by those who stand to oppose it. If one believes the Bush administration's expressed motive for invading Iraq, it was to bring the blessings of freedom to people who had been brutalized by Saddam Hussein. Yet when individuals along the roadside in Dunedin take advantage of one of the greatest blessings of freedom, the right of free speech, they are condemned and treated as a threat.

The biggest threat to American democracy is not protest; it is apathy. Opinion polls confirm that Americans, while steadfastly and appropriately supporting the troops, have turned against the war. Yet protests like the one in Dunedin generally are small and few, and the Bush administration is able to press on with a war the majority of Americans surveyed want to see ended.

One can't help wondering what would happen if more Americans got up off their couches and took up a sign or joined a protest march to object to this unpopular war or other injustices in our society today.

The Dunedin protesters, like the other small bands of peace activists conducting demonstrations occasionally around the Tampa Bay area, aren't content to sit at home and keep their mouths shut. Their freedom to speak is a precious one protected by the U.S. Constitution. They deserve admiration, not condemnation, for speaking out.

Diane Steinle is editor of editorials for the North Pinellas editions of the Times.

[Last modified July 21, 2007, 23:46:08]