Every Tuesday in downtown Seattle, there is a group that gathers outside the offices of Washington State’s two U.S. Senators to protest the country’s involvement in overseas wars. The group is called the Seattle Downtown Peace Vigil. It was started by the parents of a soldier, Ben Colgan, who was killed in Iraq in 2003. His parents were also peace activists during the Vietnam War.

Today, I talked to an elderly lady carrying a sign and asked her if she thought the protests were making a difference. She looked at me somewhat puzzled, and said she had no idea, before adding that that it was simply something she felt she must do.

I find it somewhat ironic that as young people around the world protest for their civil rights, here in the U.S. it’s our older (and probably wiser) people who are protesting for peace.