8/28/2004 10:55:00 AM|||Sarah|||

My sister lives in Brooklyn and I was talking with her yesterday about the nearing convention and if she had witnessed any protests. Now, I love my sister and she's one of my closest friends, but we have different political views. Some of her friends are writing "Vote Kerry" on sheets and putting them on the roofs of their apartment buildings so that delegates arriving by plane will see the Democratic strength. She also mentioned that some people had spent yesterday spelling words with their bodies in Central Park. My response was, "That's sure to affect change in policy." With some exasperation she responded, "Sarah, they are there more to be a presence for their cause." Whatever.

I remember being handed a flyer on the school bus one morning ... guess it would have been 10th grade. One of the boys in my class was advertising a rally downtown (D.C.) against the Gulf War. "No blood for oil" was largely printed on the pink paper. The word spread between classes, and quite a few of my fellow adolescents had decided to make the trip. I asked why. The responses were as such:

"War sucks!"

"I don't know."

"It's a good reason to get out of school."

"Anarchy rules!"

All well-thought out positions, to be sure. I decided to skip the protest, though, to stay home and actually read about the conflict.

I'm reminded also of a trip to Coney Island with my sister a couple of years ago. I took no interest in the "music" that her and her friends went to see, so I sat on a bench and did some people-watching. I particularly enjoyed the buttons on backpacks such as "Corporations kill" and "Capitalism is racist". I'm sure the 14-year-old girls wearing these buttons decided to do so after thoughtful discussion in their economics classes and a careful reading of Smith as compared to Marx, as well as of men such as Hobbes and Locke and Jefferson.

While I'm sure of the protesters both in NYC this week and from my high school arrived at their positions through honest research and conviction, I believe that most are just protesting because it's the cool, anti-establishment thing to do. In the end, all it does is give legitimacy and support to the other side. So, protest on! It's your right ... embrace it!

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