Last weekend, my wife & daughter drove up to Kennebunkport, ME (summer haunt of the Bush family) to join about 4,000 others in protesting against the Iraq war. It's always great to see friends again, old and new, and to be around others who understand just how brutal and unnecessary this war is. Although only a few were allowed close to the Bush compound (to be met by, believe it or not, soldiers), the march was still a success insofar as it continued to put pressure on this president. As Cindy Sheehan has said, we want to make sure that he cannot enjoy a vacation so long as thousands of military servicemen/women and their families are at war.<div>
The highlight of the march for me came in the form of about 10-15 "counter-protesters." The group A Gathering of Eagles feels, rather self-importantly, that their mission is to defend the the war, the president (oh, yes, and "the military") against all of the traitorous commies out there who hate America and real Americans. The fact that this group of hate-filled reactionaries can only come up with fewer than two dozen--less that one percent of the marchers--speaks well of this country (unless you're one of them, in which case you're probably building a bunker). Still, these folks are generally loud, so they make a good show of it.
There was one angry, bitter little lady who felt compelled to march in front of us with a snare drum. I suppose she felt she was going to drown out our chants & cadences. Although she snarled whenever anyone got too close, she was largely innocuous, ineffective, and kind of sad.
There was also a young fellow (definitely military age) carrying one end of an old bed sheet with something like "They'll come home when they complete the mission" painted on it. What made him pathetic was that he covered his lower face with an America flag scarf. Really: what are people like this afraid of? I mean, WE'RE the ones getting our pictures taken by the FBI. Judging from his demeanor and shallow rants, I seriously doubt he's been in the military but sure is pro-war; he was the textbook definition of a chickenhawk.
A louder bunch was standing by the road about a mile into the march. Here were the obligatory flags (we can assume "their" flags and no one else's) as well as signs with the usual drivel about "support the troops" and "traitors" and "cowards." (These people seem to be incapable of original thoughts.) Even more to the point, their idea of dialogue is attacking other people, not other people's arguments. (Hmmm. I wonder where they learned that.) A few of us tried to engage with them, but when faced with people who yell, swear, and call you names, there's not much hope for dialogue. I was proud of my brother and sister Iraq vets who, for the most part, kept it together. True, we can shout with the best of them, but considering all of us were combat vets who still get angry very quickly, we did pretty well. Ultimately, the "Gathering of Eagles" really turned into "A Gathering of Chickenhawks."
So what goes into the making of a chickenhawk? When people are such pro-war partisans that they put their self-righteousness, their blood lust, and their president ahead of the men and women in the military, ahead of other human beings who just happen to live somewhere else, and ahead of their own country, they earn the title "chickenhawk." While most chickenhawks are of the same stripe as the president, vice president, and other politicos who avoid war themselves but gleefully send other people's kids into combat, some are actually veterans. These men & women masquerade as "patriots," but since they cannot see the damage that war does to the country, and that this war is doing to our military and servicemembers, they are more than just pathetic, they are pernicious. There is no such thing as a "good war;" all war is brutish, ugly, all murderous. All wars put people into impossible situations that require doing violence to others. All wars scar both the warriors and the innocents for life. To be pro-war is to be anti-human; and I, like many, believe that to be pro-war is un-American.
Most of us who wear or wore the uniform understood that we could be called upon to sacrifice our lives, our health, and even our families for our country. We trust, however, that those sacrifices would only be asked for in the direst of emergencies, when our country was truly threatened by another country. The American people and the American military have been betrayed. We swore allegience to the Constitution, not a president nor a multinational company. Truly loyal Americans, real patriots, will stand up to their government when that government is wrong. To remain willfully blind and ignorant is simply one more cowardly betrayal.
The Morning Sentinel did a fairly good job reporting the march, as well as putting up a slide show. There's also a pretty good video on Veoh, so check out the links.
Peace & All Good!