Peace is Powerful

Peace is Powerful

“What does it benefit a nation to gain the whole world and lose its soul?”
-The Iceman Cometh


They came from all walks of life. Black, white, yellow, green. Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Atheist. Democrat, Republican, Green, Freedom, Anarchist. Together. Hand in hand they marched down the streets of Hollywood. For one cause, Peace.

One hundred thousand strong. They came from the subway, buses and cars. It was something many people never expected. It was something George Bush never expected and yet it happened. The people for 5 hours had the power. The people took a stand. They chanted, they rallied and they spoke out for all injustice that they had seen. For all the accumulated hatred and racism that the media had spread for so long. Many got their strength from the French; one sign said “Vive la France!” another said “God Bless the French.” For once again the French had arrived. Many have disputed that the French are no longer our allies; many have spoken to discredit the French. Yet have we forgotten one of the main reasons our country won the Revolutionary War? The fact of the matter is that our ally France was this reason. They blockaded the British into surrendering. On Valentine’s Day the French Foreign Minister said, “In this temple of United Nations, we are the guardians of an ideal, the guardians of a conscience. No one can assert today that the path of war will be shorter then the path of the inspections. No one can claim that it would lead to a safer world. For war is always the sanction of failure. Would this be our sole recourse in the face of the many challenges at this time? So let us give the United Nations inspectors the time they need for their mission to succeed.” After this there was applause from the galleries that moved through the foreign ministers and ambassadors.





The feelings of the protesters were echoed all over the world. In Barcelona, a city of 1.3 million people, 1.3 million turned out for the anti-war protest in that city. In Rome 2.5 million people came out in protest. London got 1.5 million people. There were over 300 protests in the United States, in various cities. The world clearly says no to this war. However the United States agenda is simple, we care only for ourselves. This is a U.S. issue not a world issue. Since when is attacking a nation on the opposite of the globe not an international issue. Starting a war over there is only reason for “terrorists” to use against the United States. It’s time for us to stop meddling in other people’s affairs. We have enough problems to worry about. What purpose does the United Nations and International Law have anymore? Perhaps it simply blows the mind of lawyer to look at this issue. Where has the ethics and morality of our country gone? The fair-minded media has in a nutshell died since after the Vietnam War.

There has always been the people. When our nation was down the people brought it back up. There was always a story that inspired us. That brought us hope. There was a Lady who flew from Japan who played “amazing grace” on her flute, that silenced the crowd and we were all left to float into our own thoughts. For one minute the world was at peace. Speakers spoke, and the people listened. The people chanted and the speakers listened. We were all united under one flag. The flag of peace.

This war has nothing to do with being American; it has every thing to do with greed and humanity. Alexander a fellow protester asked the question “how did our oil get under their sand?” Many questions are often left unanswered by the Bush Administration, mainly because these media clowns sit back in their seats during the questioning time and ask questions we already know the answers too. Honestly, this is how bad our media has gotten. I think I heard a question like “How is the President holding up?” and “Are the President’s daughters single?” This maybe simply my sarcasm, but God knows maybe it is true.

There were many things said and perhaps they will not all be remembered when we recall the past in our minds. Perhaps we may go to war. But at least the people were able to speak on that February 15, 2003 afternoon, “NOT IN OUR NAME.”