Protesters need to realize that war has begun and it will continue until our government is satisfied. I am not saying that war is right or that protest is wrong. It is important that we voice our opinions, but the truth is that four people laying on a sidewalk in central Pennsylvania are not going to stop a war.

People are willing to spend hours at vigils, but what for? At the end of the day, you may feel better about yourself, but the net result is that you've burned a bunch of candles and wasted the last several hours of your life and nobody in a position of power knows. Furthermore, your efforts might be construed as support for Saddam Hussein's regime, and the fact is that public support for that government is the only thing keeping this war alive, so, ironically, protest may be prolonging the duration of the violence.

If people are willing to dedicate so many hours to this cause, why waste those hours standing or laying "dead" in Anytown, USA? Why not spend those hours doing something positive, like organizing a means to send supplies to the Iraqi people you are so intent on protecting? Or sending aid to the people of Afghanistan? Or some other country that we have forgotten about during our fixation with Hussein and bin Laden?

If you are protesting this war, you must have some idea of better things that could be done, so be constructive and do those things! If you can't think of anything better to do than stand around all day, then maybe you don't have anything to protest after all.