As mentioned above, in a recent poll the Los Angeles Times found that more than two-thirds of Americans believe that President Bush has failed to make the case for war with Iraq is justified. This is just one more indicator of the wave of dissent finally being heard and seen throughout the United States. At the same time, 30 members of the "Iraq Peace Team" -- many of them Americans -- have arrived in Baghdad. The trip was organized by Voices in the Wilderness.

While the months leading up to the November elections were marked by the largest anti-war rallies since the height of the anti-Vietnam War movement, media coverage was scarce. But recently, it has been heartening to see -- on an almost daily basis in December -- increasing coverage of the "new" peace movement. Growing and growing and growing. People are outraged at the possibility of going to war in Iraq and the extremes of the USA Patriot Act, a federal law that has broadened the government's ability to use secret searches, wiretaps and other covert surveillance techniques in pursuit of terrorists. While the usual peaceniks have been out and about rallying against Bush's war posturing, the media is talking about the "everyday" people joining the movement. In matter of fact, we know the peace movement has always been "everyday" people, but the media is finally taking note and expanding its own notion of a peace activist.

One news article commented on the various groups partaking in the anti-war demonstrations saying, "This is what the anti-war movement looks like -- not just the collection of fringe characters and political oddballs some news outlets portray. Yet media coverage seems stuck in a 1960s and 1970s Vietnam War-era frame, with journalists confining themselves to protest stories and visual images reminiscent of those times." The times (and the portraits) are a changing.

The Sacramento Bee ran a story on December 5th saying, "Anti-War Protesters are Flowing in From the Mainstream." A headline in the Sunday, December 15th San Francisco Chronicle read "'Ordinary People' Join Peace Protests." And the December 10th Washington Post commented on the new "Peace Warriors" saying, "For now, Anarchists, Socialists, Quakers, And More Are Marching to the Same Drum." In response to the anti-terrorist USA Patriot Act, the Los Angeles Times noted the "New Breed of Patriots Speaking Up." And in Ann Arbor, the Michigan Daily reported on December 3rd the "City Council Votes for Anti-War Resolution." At least two dozen other cities throughout the country have passed resolutions against the war in Iraq.

The December 10th war protests were timed to coincide with International Human Rights Day. Here's a sampling of what the various mainstream papers have been saying about the recent anti-war efforts:

"From a morning blockade of a federal building in Chicago to a lunchtime march to the White House to an evening discussion at a YWCA in Detroit, a cross-section of activists, celebrities and everyday Americans held more than 150 events across the country today to oppose a war with Iraq. Organized by a coalition of more then 70 groups called United for Peace, the events ranged in attendance from several dozen at Youngstown, Ohio, and Mineola, NY to several hundred in Santa Fe, NM, and Oakland, CA. Organizers and participants said the diverse turnout represented a growing wave of popular dissent, even as the country inches closer to military action." (New York Times, Dec. 11, 2002)

"The extraordinary array of groups questioning the Bush administration's rationale for an invasion of Iraq includes longtime radical groups such as the Workers World Party, but also groups not known for taking stands against the government. There is a labor movement against the war, led by organizers of the largest unions in the country; a religious movement against the war, which includes leaders of virtually every mainstream denomination; a veterans movement against the war, led by those who fought Iraq in the Persian Gulf a decade ago; business leaders against the war, led by corporate leaders; an antiwar movement led by relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2002, attacks; and immigrant groups against the war." (Washington Post, Dec. 2, 2002)

Who are these "new" peaceniks, groups and organizations against the war in Iraq? (Obviously, this is not a complete list, simply a compilation from some of the recent news stories mentioned above.)

· Daphne Reed, a retired Hampshire College drama teacher, started a movement called Mothers Against War. The Washington Post noted that most members are grandmothers in their seventies, who spend hours a day on the internet, reading and spreading information on Iraq and the U.S., and planning marches, email campaigns and teach-ins.

· Joan Blades, a Berkeley entrepreneur who co-founded MoveOn.org, an internet based group, which posted a petition in early December urging Bush to let the UN weapons inspections process work. She expects to get 20,000 to 30,000 signatures in 24 hours, not unrealistic for a group that raised $1 million in a few days for four anti-war candidates.

· President of the AFL-CIO John J. Sweeney sent a letter to Congress in early October expressing reservations about the justifications for invasion. The AFL-CIO has 13 million members. Several thousand union members have signed up against the war, and many more are joining every week.

· The National Council of Churches, which represents 36 Protestant and Orthodox denominations, with 50 million members), is facilitating antiwar events for traditionally liberal institutions and conservative churches. The group is launching a "Seasons of Peacemaking" campaign.

· Black Voices for Peace, founded by Damu Smith, is a Washington based group which began a few weeks after 9/11 and has more than 3,000 members now. The group is planning its own rallies and forums in Washington over the weekend of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Jan. 18-19.

· United for Peace - a website started by Global Exchange for groups to list events commemorating the Sept. 11 anniversary, has emerged into a national network coordinating events for more than 70 peace groups nationwide.

· Women Against Military Madness in Minneapolis keeps selling out of its "Say No to War With Iraq" signs, about 1,000 have been sold so far.

And there's the celebrity protesters using their star power to protest the war. Although the Toronto Star was skeptical of their overall impact, reporting that "when the stars came out on Tuesday to protest the White House's inexorable march to war, most media shot them down." The paper went on to say that, "In a celebrity-obsessed culture, this speaks volumes about how dissent is a dirty word nowadays." According to the article, both CNN and MSNBC devoted no more than a minute to live coverage of the news conference held by Mike Farrell (Providence, M*A*S*H), Janeane Garofalo (The Larry Sanders Show), Martin Sheen (The West Wing) and about 100 other performers and military experts including Kim Basinger, Matt Damon, Susan Sarandon, Helen Hunt, and Noah Wyle. They all signed a letter titled "Win Without War," to coincide with the launch of a new coalition of organizations opposed to an unprovoked war with Iraq.

Commenting on his three-day trip to Baghdad, actor Sean Penn said, "I'm here for a simple reason, which is because I'm a patriot and an American who has benefited enormously from being an American, and because I had areas of personal concern and conscience that led me to come to Iraq." Penn also paid for a $56,000 advertisement in the Washington Post in October accusing President Bush of stifling debate on Iraq.

So, what's different about this peace movement compared to previous ones? Many people have pointed out that, in this case, the peace movement is distinctive because it is hoping to prevent a war, rather than reacting to a war that has already started.