This is a sympton of a larger problem. A lot of kids think that protesting and other activist type activities are actual accomplishments. They're not. Protesting is obnoxious and a waste of physical and mental energy. It would be nice if more students could direct their energies towards something constructive. Ask one of these future protesters for some suggestions about what we should do in Iraq. If you get any at all, they will be utterly unrealistic, such as "open a dialogue with the terrorists."
On a side note, I was walking in downtown DC this morning to get some breakfast. I passed by a guy who was talking abnormally loud on his cell phone, clearly with the hope that other people would hear him. He was discussing some article that he wrote about "the Republican meltdown." It seemed that he thought writing some left-wing version of an Ann Coulter article was really important. God forbid he come up with some new ideas or try to actually accomplish anything worthwhile rather than slinging rocks and mud. That seems to be the same mentality that views protesting as a worthwhile activity. It's all about being obnoxious and making noise to get noticed. Accomplishing something? We'll worry about that when we get there.
I could not disagree more. Protesting is good. They are involved. You only think it is a waste of time because you disagree with their point of protest. If you agreed with it, you would not think it was obnoxious or a waste of time. There could be worse things... like apathy. This country was founded on protest. I don't agree with her, but respect her for at least being involved. Protests work. More repubs should protest. Many times they act like sheeple. Look at the mess in DC. You think there would be change if we all started protesting against the billions in government waste? or the lack of accountability of our representatives?
I have to disagree, in that all the protests orchestrated by the Left only here but worldwide, have created a very anti-American atmosphere. The kids that are drawn into various lefty organizations rarely know the issues, and are the victims of successful propoganda, as well as a lack of critical thinking skills. They, also, usually have a home environment that supports these activities. People of all ages that engage in these destructive displays are unwitting pawns of a large apparatus.
My second point of disagreement lies with your feeling that this type of expression is "a waste of physical and mental energy". It then would follow that you must feel that those of us who do support the troops rallies and other positive events as being in the same catagory. Never in my three plus years of weekly (usually bi-weekly) rallies have I felt that I was wasting my time or energy. Nor are those, especially the service members, that approach us with gratitude.