"Hell No, We Won't Go!" has morphed into "Peace is Patriotic" in the modern anti-war lexicon, as peace strategists urge their followers to embrace the flag rather than burn it.

"Aware that screaming denunciations of the United States might alienate mainstream Americans, some leaders of the peace movement are borrowing a tool from the right and using patriotism to sell peace. 

"It's an epiphany the left has experienced," said Susan C. Strong, an activist and researcher who studies language. "People realized: 'Oh, yes - we're Americans, too.'  Our frustration has been the degree to which our government wasn't living up to the values - the American values - we hold."

The cited article illustrates why the majority of the members of the Grant County Peace Coalition (GCPC) have experienced a completely different set of emotions since the "War with Iraq" has been declared "over."  The article implies that citizens of the United States who opposed the "War with Iraq" are disingenous in their claims to be patriotic.

There is a misperception that people who oppose the "War with Iraq" are somehow, less patriotic, subversive, or phoney in their patriotism, or somehow, looney or weird because they do not see eye-to-eye with President Bush and Congress's decision to launch the "War with Iraq." Likewise, GCPC members want the public to know that they, too, were stunned by the events of September 11, 2001 and want to bring an end to terrorism in the United States as well as everywhere in the world.

According to some polls, 72% of the American people support the way George W. Bush, Jr., has "handled" the "War with Iraq."  That means, at best, that 28% of the American people do not support his handling of the war, much less, whipping up a war fervor to justify the Administration's plan, all along, to invade Iraq.

Coming from a cross-section of Grant County citizens, GCPC members include teachers,  lawyers, business people, retired people, a minister, college educators, crafts people and long-time liberal thinkers. At least five former members of the military (one, a WW II veteran who decided he could not fight or kill and spent time imprisoned for that decision; four from Vietnam - of whom three are Purple Heart, combat disabled veteran two with Combat Infantry Badges; all volunteers for the Vietnam War - Marines, Navy and Army), GCPC does not feel "overjoyed" or "pleased with the results" or "happy that the war was a success."

More typical are the feelings of: anger, frustration, disappointment, dismay, grief, loss, sadness, even depression at what they view as the rawest, most blatant act of Imperialism the United States has exhibited since the days of Theodore Roosevelt.  GCPC members feel, as a whole, that the "War with Iraq" was not a just war, nor a necessary war, nor even a war designed to legitimately "protect the United States" from either a 'clear and present danger' nor an 'imminent threat to the security of the country' as so often cited.

Rather, the GCPC has a consensus that taking the words of James Woolsey, former CIA Director under President Clinton, who has been mentioned as possibly taking over as an advisor to restructured the Iraqi government's Ministry of Information, the dominant view in the Administration truly may be that the United States IS actively engaged in World War IV.  Woolsey states that the Cold War actually constituted WW III . Vice-President Dick Cheney has, himself, stated that it is possible that the "War on Terrorism" [could] go on for a long time and that it "may never end. At least not in our lifetimes.  He has also speculated that "for the first time in our history, we will probably suffer more casualties here at home than will our troops overseas."

Some would mock GCCP members as reactive or naive if they believe the rhetoric of Mr. Cheney and Mr. Woolsey.  But, contrary to some people's beliefs, GCPC members take Mr. Woolsey and Vice President Cheney at their words. Hardly had the guns stopped in Iraq than Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and President Bush had already "warned Syria" and Iran to not meddle in Iraqi affairs, nor, provide sanctuary to any Iraqi leaders seeking cover.  A possible crisis with North Korea could explode into either a limited nuclear exchange or a ferocious repeat of the Korean War.  And Mr. Woolsey added "Egypt and Libya" to the list of possible targets under the cover of WW IV.

To deal with these possibilities, GCPC has elected to actively "Wage Peace" as their long-term objective.  Locally, that means GCPC will focus more on continuing to: Support our troops by urging their quick removal from the dangers of a Post-War Iraq and state that we feel this "War" has been a gross and needless abuse of their sacrifice; provide efforts designed to deal with the range of the emotions stated above, which are linked to the belief that America has entered a dark period in our history; provide learning experiences to those who are interested in "waging peace" through various spiritually based activities; provide draft counseling to any families or young men and women who may have felt opposed to this war as we have; education programs to demonstrate there are alternative views about the war, and that there are alternatives to "mainstream" media views on what has happened and how the world sees the United States.

The perception we generally hold in common is that we have to "grieve" the loss of what America used to be, and accept the reality of what America IS.  Likewise, GCPC has defined our participation in Earth Day celebrations on 26 April, as a demonstration of "waging peace through heightened awarenes of the Planet as a whole."  This is because GCPC firmly believes that an unbridled, crass, completely mindless misuse of world resources to satisfy the nation's greed and consumption-driven based economy that leads to wars to satisfy the "consumption addict" the United States is.  GCPC will have a non-profit booth at Earth Day festivities and will have material from alternative media sources, as well as information on conscientious objection and ways you, too, can be a"soldier for Peace."