Earlier in the day, I had read this 1991 statement by Michael Ventura, reprinted in the L.A. Weekly: Many who are "against" a war can also be possessed by the war energy. It can be very exciting, having a war to protest. Your small personal life takes on a cosmic significance. It feels like you're gaining stature, but actually you're at risk of losing your identity. As a protester, you, like the soldier, are not quite yourself. You are yourself plus the war. If you lean too heavily on that role of protester, when your movement has no war to protest, you too will feel diminished, lost, less. War is dangerous to everyone, on all sides of the issues. Being against a war doesn't insulate you from its demonic properties. NEXT>