] As one watches protest marches, antiwar advertising and
] local arts events, one has to wonder whether the left has
] really weighed the moral issues posed by the horrors of
] Saddam's regime -- weighed life by life the repression of
] the 24 million Iraqis who live in a ruthless police
] state, not to mention the thousands or tens of thousands
] who have been imprisoned without trial, tortured, exiled
] or killed. It sometimes seems that the left is so averse
] to war, especially war waged by America, that it is
] prepared to turn a blind eye to even the most ghastly
] realities. Perhaps it is because the left no longer sees
] these realities that its antiwar arguments tend to
] justify continuation of the status quo.
]
] That, too, is a form of paralysis. But it is emblematic
] of an evolution in leftist values that has occurred so
] gradually over a period of decades that the profound
] nature of the shift is often not noticed. Today, the
] political counterculture and the antiwar movement in the
] West often seem to be one and the same. Instead of
] fighting fascists or other genocidal tyrants as it might
] have during the Spanish Civil War or World War II or even
] during the Central American conflicts of the 1980s, the
] modern left fights war; because the United States is the
] world's most significant military agent, and because it
] has so often used military power to support
] anti-democratic governments, the left understandably fights the
]United States. Such opposition to war is reflexive, and too often
]outweighs its outrage on behalf of the oppressed. Its capacity for
]the kind of muscular empathy that leads to action has atrophied,
]leaving only the possibility of reaction, of opposition. The
]antiwar left does not mount massive protests against China,
]Pakistan or Egypt. Millions do not pour into the streets on behalf
]of the student-led democracy movement in Iran. And Saddam Hussein
]and Osama bin Laden are not angrily compared to Hitler -- that
]treatment is more often reserved for George W. Bush.

] It is emblematic of an evolution in leftist values that has
] occurred so gradually over a period of decades that the
] profound nature of the shift is often not noticed. Today, the
] political counterculture and the antiwar movement in the
] West often seem to be one and the same.

Interesting way of putting it. And I can indeed name several people I know who seem to be anti-war not because they've thought through the issues, but simply because of a knee-jerk "if our government wants it, then it must be the wrong thing to do" kind of reaction.

To be fair, I have also spoken with anti-war advocates who *have* thought through the issues, and have clear, articulate opinions of why war is a bad idea, along with specific suggestions of alternative courses of action. I may still end up disagreeing with them, but I have far more respect for their opinion, and will spend much more time listening carefully to them, when it's clear that they've given thought to both sides of the issue and made a decision based on the facts of the matter, instead of just an emotional "anti-authority" response.