Leonardo vs. the Unthinking Hordes

By now you probably have heard that thousands of people across the world have been demonstrating against war in Iraq today. Here in Manhattan, the number 100,000 keeps getting tossed around, but I have no idea how reliable it is. In general, the protestors have nothing to offer but cliched slogans and stale altruism; at best they are guilty of intellectual sloth, but the leaders are dishonest. The whole thing fills me with contempt and disgust.

For my part, I went to see the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (something else that would be lost if a nuclear bomb went off here–but then, the protesters don’t take that threat seriously, and if it happens, they’ll blame it on our belligerence). I didn’t like having to compete with crowds at the exhibit, but it did remind me that there still are civilized people in the world.

According to the AP,

Other demonstrators supported the possibility of U.S. military action. About 1,000 demonstrators gathered on Manhattan’s West Side, where 41-year-old George Sarris held a sign reading “Bomb Iraq.” [Associated Press, 2/15/03]

I wish I’d known; I would have stood with them.