GARDNER, MA — Brian Hawkins kept coming up with new words to describe his feelings about the war in Iraq. “Embarrassed that we torture people. Embarrassed that we detain people without due process,” said Mr. Hawkins, an information technology consultant who lives in Fitchburg. Later, he added “ashamed” to the list. The United States’ duty to democracy is to protect it here, he said. “That’s how we spread freedom and democracy, by being a model country,” Mr. Hawkins said. He was among a small group of people with a great deal to say about the war as they held a...