I agree with a lot of what you say in this post...including your charge of cynicism. The thing is, I have never seen so many people in the streets. I think, independently of what can be fit on placard, one reason why there are mass protests is because a lot of people are making connections between "business as usual" and the war plans. I think a lot of people are seeing that this is not "our" government and are becoming more sensitized/suspicious of the lies, especially the big lie that what's good for "business" is good for America...and that what's good for America is good for the world. It's hard to fit all this on a placard, but there's no mistaking the concern of many people, most of whom are not political, that what is being planned is not merely a war against Iraq, but a more horrible, precarious existence for all of us.
Joanna