Salon.com News | Rage or reason
"As battle rages in Iraq, despite howls of protest across the world, American antiwar organizers contemplate whether they should focus on stopping this war or the next one. Some activists still believe that Operation Iraqi Freedom can somehow be halted -- or, at least, that they have a duty to keep fighting for that goal -- and that business in America should be disrupted until it is. Others, hearing the murmurs from America's foreign policy elite that Iraq is but the first step in a grander plan to remake the Middle East and the world, are using their energy to lay the groundwork for a broader movement against George Bush's agenda and his reelection."

I was very glad to read this article. Though I am against Bush's foreign policy and I attended the Feb 15th protests, I've been taking umbrage at the continual clamor of the local weeklies and activist web sites about how 'the movement' is fizzling. Feb 15th was a great success because it was so broad. But much activism is narrow by nature, and rightfuly so. Most people will turn out for causes and methods that appeal to their interests and principles. On Feb 15th, we were united against an impending war. On Feb 17th, some of us were blocking the 520 bridge, and the rest of us were trying to get to work.

'The serious political person now asks, 'How do I focus my energy? How do I weigh in against the continuation of the Bush foreign policy?'' says Gitlin. 'That's an absolute prerequisite to disrupting this very dangerous march we're on.' "

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