I started to respond to MsWise’s comment here, (scroll down to the comments) but it got long, so I’m making it a new post.
She wanted to know where I fall on the proverbial fence regarding the war.
Heh. If I answer that, people would have no reason to come back to the site. *hint*
If you're asking what side of the fence I am on in terms of my position of the war: it vacillated quite a bit in the buildup. My instinct is generally to avoid conflict of loss of life wherever possible, I'd like to think I'm smart enough to know I very little of the intricacies of why we're in this war.
I have to believe, because the alternative is frankly too frightening, that the reasons we are there have been well thought out and/or of an ilk that we, the public, can't know due to national security. The "All The Presidents Men" side of me thinks it's rubbish, though, and sometimes that side wins out.
What's interesting to me, out of these comments, is that quite a few people feel the same way I do---ie, they fall in between the extreme positions. The problem seems to be that, in the media (as well as elsewhere in life), moderate viewpoints are rarely heard. One needs to shout at the top of one's lung, and extremist points of view shout the loudest. I mean, you never see movie ads that boldly declare the movie to be "Average...run of the mill." No, it's "THE GREATEST MOVIE SINCE FILM WAS INVENTED."
What does war have to do with film? Well, it's about how you sell it, basically. There's very little use for moderation in analysis, since it's, well, it's not as exciting and takes a bit more mental effort to get to. However, "WAR=GOOD" is an easy thing to grasp, and if you want to be heard, appealing to the lowest common denominator is good.
What's coming out, though, is that while most media surrounding the war is painted in broad strokes, most people’s opinions take a much finer shades of brushstrokes. It’s difficult to ascertain this, however, since the moderate whisper is being drowned out by the extremist bellow. People don’t fall into easy, pollable categories of “Yes, I like war” and “I’m gonna tie myself to a SCUD missile to promote peace”. Much harder to quantify what’s really going on, so instead, we are force fed polling data that may or may not be accurately assessing the national mood.
It’s quite difficult to be moderate, since in most people’s eyes, moderate=wishy washy. It’s as if one can’t be “anti-war” and “pro-soldier”. Which is, of course, bunk. One is also accused of being insensitive of one doesn’t hold onto a belief so adamantly that their skin bleeds from the grip. Thus is the fate of the moderate thinker---in the era of hyperbolic soundbites, a lengthy statement of purpose holds little interest.
That all being said, to get to the original point: to say I am for peace does not under any circumstances place me on a side of the fence. To say I have to believe this war is being conducted for the right reasons might be construed as a side of the fence, but really, I’m just chillin’ in a open field, with a whole lot of other people who are trying to figure out what’s going on, free from the people who don’t even see the chain link from the fence.