The worst thing about war is...

...how it makes some of the people you love look like morons to you.

I've taken a step back from my low-grade activist stance these days. I've realized you can't convince people of anything. And what's the point of trying anyway. No one I know can keep us from bombing. No one I know is involved enough to even respond to a web site poll. I don't need to change anyone's mind. I'm reluctant to even ask anymore.

For the record, I don't think we should be attacking Iraq. I know some people will think I'm a predictable liberal know-nothing. But I probably won't run into them when they're deployed in the soon-to-be-worldwide regime change and occupation we are about to embark on. So who cares, really? And it's easy for me to be sarcastic, I know. But the truth is, my breath is wasted in queries about how war will impact us economically and whether we have employed any sort of foresight in making this decision. No one wants to have an informed discussion. If a dude is for the war, he smirks and snorts and rolls his eyes when I say why I'm not. And if a dude is against the war, the discussion we would have would consist mostly of, "Yeah, I know. I feel EXACTLY the same way."

I don't think it's unpatriotic to question aggression. I support our troops and hope that we don't lose any of them. But that doesn't mean that I think we have a leadership that is infallible. As if we could. The silencers out there seem to be plenty willing to question leadership whenever it's someone they didn't vote for. That drives me nutty.

Of course, I don't want to generalize. I'm sure there are plenty of reasonable, informed folk out there who like to FORM an opinion rather than assume or accept one. But they never seem to be nearby when I'm watching the television.

Much of the broadcast journalism on the air in this country is an insult to the collective intellect. So, by the way, is Cher's lipsynching.