Antiwar movement losing steam?????

[Carl Remick]

>From: "Nathan Newman" <nathan at newman.org>
>
> >Where there are
> >banners and signs and chants of 'Stop the Bombing!', he would want
>something
> >different.  Maybe a forest of American Flags.  Maybe no march at all, but
> >only vigils and scholarly and 'serious' meetings.
>
>Could be.  Nothing wrong with American flags-- they were the flags that
>ended slavery and liberated the concentration camps.  No reason to cede
>their meaning to the rightwing.  "Wash the flag, don't burn it" as Norman
>Thomas once said.  Or as Frederick Douglass argued, never cede the meaning
>of the US Constitution to the reactionaries.

Nathan, you offered an excellent platform for a non-war strategy last night, 
but the cause of a rational response is not served through a continuing 
defense of mindless flag-waving.  This is a mug's game; the left will never 
be able to out-flag-wave the right.  Also, it's a mistake to conflate the 
flag and the US Constitution.  The flag offers only a primitive inarticulate 
appeal to the emotions -- reaching out to thoughtless individuals who are 
stirred by bright colors and vivid designs.  The U.S. Constitution contains 
ideas that can be examined and debated in a reasoned way.

Carl

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp