The longtime Missoula peace activist gave a deep sigh: “What a disappointingly small crowd. I just don’t get people.”
About 40 people had assembled by the time the rally officially began, and 30 more trickled in as the hourlong program progressed.
“Peace on Earth,” read one. “5 Years Too Long,” came another.
The gathering was remarkably smaller than those in years past, and far smaller than the first, which attracted hundreds n if not thousands n of protesters five years ago, shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
“We’ve protested, carried signs and written letters,” said Betsy Mulligan-Dague, executive director of the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center. “We’ve hoped and prayed for the end of this war.”
“And as heartbreaking as it is that it continues, we must continue,” she said. “These rallies are important so that we see we aren’t alone, and that together we keep our hope and strength.”
As she spoke, a bundle of fliers was passed around the crowd. The small, green slips of paper outlined “the cost of war:” $275 million per day, $4,100 per household, nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers killed and more than 60,000 wounded, 700,000 Iraqis killed, and 4 million refugees.
For more from Sunday afternoon's rally, read Monday's print edition of the Missoulian and watch Missoulian.com.
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