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Timing Is Everything in the Peacenik Business
01/16/2003

What news could possibly be released on the same day as a story about a hodgepodge group of peaceniks preparing for a fieldtrip to Washington, D.C., to protest war in Iraq that would make these people seem any more childishly foolish?

Among the nearly two dozen speakers was Claire Lewis, a 16-year-old Wheeler School student.

Providing the "young perspective," Lewis said, "For us, it comes down to one thing. We're scared. We're terrified. We're scared of being drafted, of having to fight and die for something we don't believe in. We're scared of nuclear war. We're scared of precedent being set by waging a preemptive war of aggression, and using force at the drop of a hat."

Lewis added, "But we are not scared to say what we think. We are not scared of being called radicals or idealists. We are not scared to keep asking why, what for, to keep searching for peaceful alternatives...

How about this?

A quick quiz for young Ms. Lewis: Can you name some places in the world where you might be scared to say what you think? Get out a map, sweetheart.

Posted by Justin Katz @ 02:44 PM EST