I hope someone that is much smarter than I am and a better writer, will blog about the self-hatred on display in these anti-war protests. I really don't think these people are protesting the war so much as expressing hatred of anything American, western, European, Christian, successful, rich, etc.. It must really bug them to see the USA not only winning but doing it by not killing civilians, not raping, treating POWs with basic human respect, and by handing out water and candy to people along the way. I think even if the U.S. wins the war relatively easily, with few civilian casualities, and the people of Iraq really succeed in building a better, free Iraq, the USA will still be the bad guys. We are rich, powerful, successful, educated, etc.. so we automatically must be brought down. This is just the basic envy that is seen a thousand times a day on a smaller, individual level. This kind of self-hatred, this guilt-based uneasiness with being successful is also found in the Church. I think it can help explain the criticism of H. W. Crocker's writings I blogged about above.