by Mike Puckett
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

A few weeks ago, my father and I watched in amazement as Americans demonstrated in Washington, D.C., to oppose the war in Iraq. I then asked my dad, "what price are we willing to pay for peace?"

Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist guided airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, The Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and an open field in Philadelphia. Hundreds of families lost their loved ones on this infamous day. I state this well known fact because it seems many Americans have already forgotten these horrific acts of terrorism. On that day we all received an immense understanding of what it feels like to suffer war on American soil. It was a day I will never forget.

This is why I watched in disbelief as the same Americans who mourned the death of our own all around the United States less than two years earlier demonstrated in the streets of Washington. My father explained to me that this event reminded him of the protests during the Vietnam War. He fought right along with thousands of other men and women for our right to freedom during those trying times. When he returned home, he said he found very little appreciation for what he had done overseas. So many Americans lost their lives to provide us with the freedom we all take for granted and still to this day, protestors can't understand this.

I wonder how many of these protestors lost family members or friends on Sept. 11. I wonder what it might take for these protestors to be convinced war is necessary to protect our everyday liberties. I wonder what these Americans do for a living; how much time they must have on their hands to be able to congregate in the streets. Do these demonstrators know what they are doing to the morale of our Armed Forces?

So many questions, yet very little answers explain the reasons for these selfish acts. Some of us have a cause we feel strong enough about to fight for and others fight for our right to have those feelings. In the coming months we will be faced with war in Iraq; it is the inevitable. During this time you can support our troops or you can protest them; this is your right as an American. Just don't forget that the men and women who you are protesting against are on foreign soil fighting for your right to do so, and they deserve your appreciation.

Plato said it best, "only the dead have seen the end of war."

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