Editorial — Erie Times News [1]
Published: March 21. 2007 6:00AM

You could call what happened in the lobby of the U.S. District Courthouse political theater. You could call it an anti-war protest. Or a peace protest. Or even a simple nuisance.

But what best describes what occurred Monday is pure democracy in action.

Nine members of the Erie Peace Initiative blocked the doors at the courthouse in a symbolic effort to close the building and protest the Iraq war.

It was a small protest against bigger forces and bigger events. It was, if you wish, a quiet exercise.

The protesters let lawyers walk past them into the courthouse. There was no shouting or screaming as supporters outside the courthouse sang and carried signs to protest America’s conflict in Iraq. Then it ended as security officials and the FBI arrived.

These Americans’ patriotism or motives should not be questioned. They engaged in a tidy piece of civil disobedience, which fit the spirit of America’s democratic traditions.

It was quiet but not insignificant.

Everyone involved — law enforcement officials, lawyers, people doing business at the courthouse — carried on without much fuss and simply allowed events to take their proper course. People did their jobs and went about their business. What glorious routine.

Whether the men and women from the Erie Peace Initiative changed any minds is perhaps less important than their open lesson of taking a stand and the reactions that it drew. That they were allowed to protest in dignity and face the legal consequences without incident said good things about all of us.

Democracy is often messy, defined by dissent. No matter the size or volume.