Tuesday, March 25, 2003

The ordinary antiwar left

Richard Einhorn writes in regarding the "Rush" series postscript:
"The confusion [by the left of Fascism with the establishment] is alive and well today with peace marchers who blithely identify Bush with Hitler and compare Republicans to Nazis. The purpose of these analogies is to shame conservatives, but they instead only give their accusers the appearance of shrill harpies willing to abuse the memory of the Holocaust for cheap political theater."

I couldn't agree more. However, and this must be stressed, among peace marchers today, they represent a minuscule fraction of the crowd and their voice has no importance.

I have participated in three rallies so far, including the one this weekend in New York. I cringe when I see signs comparing Bush to Hitler as they are so clearly wrongheaded and counterproductive. I do not like going to them but it is too important to miss. It is the only way that those of us who oppose Bush get a sense of how large our numbers are.

I think that it is important to note that most of us know full well that Bush is not Hitler redux. Rather, we recognize with ever growing concern that Bush has mainstreamed the plans and rhetoric of right wing extremists who, if not fascist, certainly have overlaps in ideology and tactics.

Would that only "nice" and "educated" marchers would come to such large gatherings. But they are a minority. Ordinary Americans who despise Bush's policies and his values are the people that have made these marches so huge.

A point certainly worth making.

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