Its important to note that this thread as posted is not about the merits of the war...

ET -

I scoffed at the patchouli wearin' hippies that held a 'vomit in' at the federal building...

Micheal Moore posesses a tremendously large pair for doing what he did the other night, but I have to disagree with his having done so. Bad form...I say these things as an example that it is possible to have a centrist view on these issues...

What is the average citizen that disagrees with the policies of his government to do?? Follow blindly??...or... Speak out? I do believe that was one of the very principles this country was founded on...see Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense'...

So we do, no matter which side of the fence we are on.

For me it ends when our troops are committed to battle. What would you say to the parents whose children are fighting the war that disagreed with the foreign policy that led us to this point? "You don't support your child because you spoke out against the war"?

Lastly....if not for the outcry of the public during the Vietnam era, that war, now widely regarded as a mistake, would have lasted much longer. It could be argued successfully that those protesters did more to save the lives of soldiers than their government ever did.

Saving soldier's lives...can't get much more patriotic/supportive than that.

I am not arguing that people should take to the streets and protest. I am arguing that it is possible to be supporting the troops in doing so.