Trying to Amplify Antiwar Voices

 

Before learning about people dissenting against the government for going to war, I never realized the government was so against that when it came to free speech and press, especially when the press speaks about it. In the mainstream media you do hear talk about war, but never the opposition of it. Unless you are a person who really likes revenge, nobody truly likes the idea of war. It is costly, risks and losses lives, and ruins relationships with other countries. When it comes to the U.S. having its own people speak out against wars that we participate in or start, I really can't wrap my head around why they would want to silence them. One reason why I can think of why powerful politicians would be totally for war is because of the connection it has to money and power. Nowadays lots of defense spending goes to private contractors who pump billons of dollars into the government through contracts. If a president or other government official has interest in private defense contractors then they will be strong war proponents. As far as the governments role in silencing war opponents I think it's bogus how they claim "national security" as their defense as to why everyday citizens and even the media should be silent on their opposition to war. If there were real national security implications then they would be silencing the people who are for war as well because all in all it's still talk about war. If they were so concerned about national security then they would silence all voices and not just the ones who are in opposition. Also, the people who speak in opposition aren't that dangerous as to where they will leak national security information or risk the safety of the country. For the U.S. to censor people against war is totally un-American and should be as protected as much as protected speech under the first amendment.