I think political rotest in this country has changed overall. I think 30-40 years ago Americans were moreeducated and learned about the political conditions of the country regardless of their point or view or social-economics. I think Americans 30-40 years later are less educated, less politicaly conscious and are more willing to be led by those with the most resources. Black people don't realize or know their history and white refuse to learn their history and everyone seems to be happy with that. Political protest takes time, energy, and an educated love of democracy to even consider paticipation.

Sent by Sylvia L. Harper, Middle School Social Studies Teacher, Minneapolis, MN | 3:09 PM ET | 03-22-2007

I'm a Latino. The U.S government has made me feel distant in my own country. By that I mean that the government has delayed over and over immigration reform. Why should Latino's protest the war, when they don't even feel welcomed or part of the country? People say that Latinos dont vote, but they don't think about their needs. In a way Latinos vote by not voting. When Latinos truly feel that were treated equal than other Americans thats when we will protest things like the Iraq war. but untill then there's too much work to be done for our community by not just the government but by all Americans.

Sent by cristian | 3:31 PM ET | 03-22-2007

I'm latina and anti-war. In San Francisco many anti-war protesters are people of color. That being said, I think that in the Hispanic community many work in the service industry or jobs where it is hard to take time off work on the weekend to go protest. They would have to take a day without pay even if they could ask for the time off. I think a cause has to really, really hit home such as immigration for the latino population to go out and protest. I think the war is just not as relevant as the immigration issue which directly impacts the majority of the Latino community.

Sent by Carla Charraga | 3:39 PM ET | 03-22-2007

We are a combination of many different animals. we are a nation of sheep,ostriches,lemmings. Our political leaders lack vision, sensitivity or any sense of integrity. We have other countries fooling us and getting us to do their dirty work -Great Brittain, Israel, PRC - even Russia.
We have a president who has conned us into a war-constantly lying to us,usurping our constitution. He is responsible for the murder of over 3200 US military and he will not be tried for his war crimes. His current concern about veterans hospitals is based solely on his realization that he will be dependent on care received from these hospitals. The media, NPR included, rarely gives and outlook that contains higher order thinking.
I must thank NPR for having such a voice in the wilderness even if it is very quiet.
As Mr Bush recongnizes, the media is controled by him - If he disapproves of the content he will not allow a writer to ask him questions.
This country has never been closer to dictatorship. Fortunately, Bush's approval rating is low.
silvia Harper does not go far enough in her condemnation of the lack of education of students over the past 20 years. it is unfortunate how "dummed down" history books are in america - or for that matter- incorrect. the books express not facts but opinions that have shaped americans into the sheep they have become.
If I did not have to earn a living I could give endless examples of my opinions.

Sent by Mark Karahalis | 4:00 PM ET | 03-22-2007

Mark - bold comments.

In the days ahead, it will be interesting to see how the administration handles the current conflict -- on many fronts.

All - thanks for the feedback so far...blog away!

I see myself more as an ostrich than a sheep...fyi.

Sent by Lee with Rough Cuts | 4:13 PM ET | 03-22-2007

I was at the March on the Pentagon demonstration in Washington and I fell in among a good many Latino protesters. In fact, as they were chanting Spanish slogans I needed to ask one of them for an English translation!

It's true, I did not see many African-Americans among us, although I did see a goup whose T-shirts read, "Make Hip Hop, Not War." Still, even many of this group were white.

But my anecdotal impression was that Latinos were relatively well represented at this March.

Sent by Bob R. | 4:59 PM ET | 03-22-2007

It's hard for me to judge how well-educated Americans are, but I know that the protesters with whom I have marched are usually very well-educated, perhaps so educated about America that they are experiencing despair, as am I.

My experience of protesters has been one of ethnic diversity, but not one of educational diversity. Most of the young people I know who have not had post-secondary education work in the lowest-paying jobs and, like the other commenter said, have little time to protest between working two jobs and caring for their children. When they do discuss politics, most are unthinkingly supportive of the troops, and generally in favor of the government even if they think the current administration is undesirable. When asked what they think about politicians lying and cheating, they usually talk about how all politicians are greedy liars, and it's difficult to argue with them.

However, these people also consistently vote against their own interests. When I ask them about that, they usually cite one issue about which they agree with the politician they elected -- it seems that one sliver of certainty is better than a whole host of iresponsible actions and deception.

Sent by Rachel | 5:15 PM ET | 03-22-2007

Why should anyone be surprised that the protestors were overwhelmingly white? Seventy to eighty percent of American casualties in Iraq are white. Ironic since it was white America that gave Bush the last two elections.

Sent by erikvilius.blogspot.com | 7:32 PM ET | 03-22-2007

I was very interested in this piece, until Michelle Martin asked Greg Aliki why there are so few people of color in the antiwar movement. He said "I'm not sure"...and then (smoothly) changed the subject to criticize George Bush. The whole point of the piece was to discuss why there are so few people of color in the antiwar movement; why was there a guest on who didn't know and wasn't even interested in discussing it?

Sent by Simon Rodberg | 9:03 PM ET | 03-22-2007

No, the ethnmicities of the poeple doesn't matter. Different people have their own opinions on the war in Iraq. Some people whom have had experiences in a war would differ from another who has no experience. Some might think that wars are tragic and loved ones can be lost. But, that idea would differ from someone who thinks that war is good, and that their enemies will die. Someone who was African American could have the same opinions as someone who was Latino.

Sent by Sammy Chang | 2:18 AM ET | 03-23-2007

As several others have mentioned, I think TIME is the biggest obstacle to people taking part in protests, politics, civic life, and family life. In this country we've allowed the norm to become that our jobs, and often the corporatations behind them, truly control our every action. It's easy to control people who are working all of the time and are too tired after work or too busy with family obligations to keep up with civic life and discourse.

Sent by Becky | 10:23 AM ET | 03-23-2007

I participated in a peace rally last Saturday, my first ever. I did notice the lack of color even though two of the featured speakers were our mayor, who is African-American, and an Iraq vet against the war who was Hispanic. I can't explain this. However, what I did notice was the range of ages. The front row of people in attendance were people in their 70's and 80's. There were very many elderly people there. I don't know why I was so surprised by this considering I just turned 50 and seemingly feel a great need for establishing peace world-wide for the long term. Maybe as we age we are more willing to quit brandishing the arms and instead offer an olive branch.

Sent by Dorsay Fischer | 10:28 AM ET | 03-23-2007

This is a fascinating topic and an excellent question! Thank you for bringing it up, as I noticed at my local antiwar rally the very demographic bias you outlined, and wondered why it was so. I agree with the explanation that many people are faced with immediate, practical concerns, and politics isn't one of them. But I thought it was very interesting that one of your guests, when asked what she tells her kids about why the awful things in the news have happened, replied that she tells them it's God's will, and then she follows that up with the honest admission that she really doesn't know why terrible things happen. I have a strong inkling that there may be a proportionately larger percentage of nonreligious and religiously liberal people within the white community than within the African American community. (I would be interested to know whether this is statistically true.) My point being, if you have a strong belief in God and providence (Christian or Islamic) to soothe your distress at avoidable tragedies then maybe you are more likely to react to issues like the U.S. occupation of Iraq philosophically, concluding that tragedy is somehow a necessary part of God's mysterious larger plan, and not something to spend time getting irate in public about or trying to change...? Not that a lot of the protesters (mostly white) I've seen lack belief, but most seem to be quite liberal in their beliefs, and they reject the chestnut that human-driven tragedies are actually "God's will," which is a significantly different attitude. (Although liberal believers would also probably conclude that their God can work through the aftermath of human-caused tragedies, their belief would nevertheless clamor for justice here and now instead of being content to wait for judgment day.) What I'm saying is, maybe those holding conservative religious affiliations react with more outrage to issues they see as being in direct conflict with and corrosive to their belief systems, and less outrage toward those perennial political power struggles that their religious beliefs encourage them to endure and categorize as opportunities to strengthen their faith...?

Sent by Aleda Diggins | 2:01 PM ET | 03-23-2007

As long as we continue to focus on color, ethnicity, race, and physical attributes we can't control, we cannot learn and grow, therefore we have stunted our intelligence as humans.
War is not an answer. The message needs saying, no matter who the messenger.

Sent by Angebar L. Thuik | 6:07 PM ET | 03-23-2007

1.) Ahhh, come on! Kids today have access to, retrieve and use more information than any previous generation in history. They're plenty educated. How else would you explain the WTO protests in Seattle and the grassroots power of that new fangled InterWeb that all the kids are raving about?
2.) the bush administration has effectively squelched free speech by creating ???free speech zones??? whenever he appears in public. I stopped attending protests (where, true, there always seemed to be an inordinate number of young white kids) when I felt like a piece of cattle in a pen in 2004. I was at a protest with a few hundred peeps at a Bush electrion fundraiser in LA when the Code Pink women (most of whom are white and well educated) unfurled a banner on a building and got arrested for it. We were "contained" to a couple blocks and I am certain Bush never laid eyes on us, or was told by his handlers that we were even there. And don't worry, there was no coverage by the media either. That was the fourth or fifth protest where we were kept in a "safe" area, away from the action.

Turns out, we've been right all along about Bush and the war, and many of the people who've been leading the way from the git go are people of color who are young and know this stuff inside and out. Give the kids some credit!

Sent by mk | 7:24 PM ET | 03-23-2007

I found all of these comments provocative--I want to push back a little on Eric. He said the antiwar demonstration being predominately white because most of the casualties are--It's true that the military is majority white but it's also disproportionately black and latino--34% compared to 26% of the general population. Plus, African Americans have such a strong tradition of grass roots activism, and the Latino community recently demonstrated the same with the large marches for immigration reform. So, we thought..Hmmm.. what's going on here? I understand Angebar's argument that even noticing such things is unproductive; we just have a friendly disagreement about that. We wonder, as journalists, why some issues move some people some times but not others at those times. And finally, thanks to those of you who listened to the other segments! I know that's a long podcast but we're trying to get into the business of producing whole programs. thanks for letting us practice on you! like we said, this is our little laboratory (does that make us all....lab rats? Eww)

Sent by Michel Martin and the rough cuts team | 7:34 PM ET | 03-23-2007

Yes the anti occupation protest are ethnically unballanced and rightly so. Understand that poor folk only have so much to lend to this dirthy little war. So they better get out there and put a stop to this madness before it is mostly there children on the front lines. The draft should even some of this out. Much is expected of those who have been given so much.

Sent by Lester Young | 5:21 AM ET | 03-24-2007

Shortly before the invasion of Iraq in 2003 someone asked me, in a hushed tone because all the media frenzy had made it almost un-American to question it, what I thought of the up-coming invasion. I replied, "The troops will be in Bagdad in a week, but then what? Before America comes to its senses thousands of troops will have to die. The Bush administration is clueless about what they are facing in Iraq and the Middle East." The hubris and arrogance of the neo-conservatives, as well as the mind-boggling ignorance of many government officials, combined with an irresponsible news media and the rampant corruption and moral bankruptcy of the Bush administration and many members of congress, have destroyed a country, destabilized the most important energy-producing region in the world and led to the the death of thousands of brave US soldiers. Ignorance in action is a dangerous thing to behold. The genie has been let out of the bottle. There are no easy solutions in Iraq, only more death and destruction, whether US troops leave or not. The American people will hopefully never be as naive and trusting again, or the terrible lesson we all have learned will need to be learned over again and again. But that's what we said after the Vietnam War fiasco.

Sent by Peter | 9:30 AM ET | 03-24-2007

I am a Black lawyer and was part of the 2% of Black people at DailyKos, a white anti-war blog, before I was banned from participating there. I was banned, in part, for denouncing the virtually all-white nature of the movement, that occurs even in a Democratic Party that has ample Black participants.

If the white blogs and anti-war groups that organize the anti-war rallies are only 2% Black, how can they possibly organize a rally that will be any more representative?

They don't want our participation and that's why they don't have it.

Sent by Francis L. Holland, Esq. | 11:46 AM ET | 03-24-2007

As a young woman, I'm really tired of all the "younger generation isn't so aware" messages. I think we're more cynical than our parents were at our age - you won't find us poking flowers in the barrels of guns. I think even white, middle-class kids these days understand that the protests aren't, in themselves, very helpful. I've enjoyed the protests I've gone to. I like the solidarity, and the feeling of chanting and walking together. But ultimately, as one of the guests pointed out, I have better things to do with my time. I'm not a person of color, but I am poor. The realities of feeding myself, paying rent, and finding healthcare seem much more urgent than waving a sign and shouting "No blood for oil" (because really - "war" or not, that's always been the case.)

I think people who are queer, of color, poor, or whatnot have a very different view of politics than those who are more priveleged. It's more cynical, but also has a better grasp on the complexities of something like stopping an economic, ideologic, and military maneuver of this scale. Perhaps that works against us, or perhaps we're working in other ways against the machine. I'd like to see someone explore the issue of why war protests aren't done differently, if they've been this effective so far. (Not to say they haven't been or can't be again, but this administration obviously is not invested in the approval of the anti-war constituents.)

Sent by Anita | 10:06 AM ET | 03-26-2007