Signs on the overpasses

Drove down to Portland this weekend to meet my new nephew. Mrs. Orcinus and the Princess and I all jumped in the car for the three-hour drive down, and were of course rewarded. It's always a little stunning to see a newborn and to be reminded just how tiny and vulnerable they are, and at the same time how much potential is there inside that quivering little bundle.

En route on Saturday, there were were crowds of pro-war demonstrators on the overpasses, especially in the Fort Lewis area, all waving American flags. I have no problem with these kinds of demonstrations, but there is an aspect of them that seems essentially dishonest.

The vast majority of the signs they held declared: "Support Our Troops." The unstated implication of these signs, of course, is that people who oppose the war do not support the troops.

This is fundamentally false. Many of those opposed to the war are indeed veterans and others (myself included) who simply do not believe an adequate case has been made for the war. They support our troops -- and do not wish to waste their precious lives for a war intended mainly for political purposes. As one popular antiwar slogan puts it: 'Support Our Troops: Bring Them Home!"

This is a common right-wing tactic -- wrapping themselves in a position that hardly anyone can refute, and thereby implying that their opponents are against essential homespun values. This is also why anti-abortionists like to label themselves "pro-life."

And then there were the "God Bless George W. Bush" signs -- in case there was any doubt about the political undercurrents at work here.

Of course, there also were the obligatory anti-antiwar signs, but most of them were content to use France as a shorthand for "antiwar." I'm sure if I had looked closer -- I was driving, after all -- I could have spotted worse.

More on this tide later today.