The current anti-war movement may never reach the fevered pitch of the 1960's as long as the army remains comprised entirely of volunteers. While Americans today are protesting mostly out of personal ideology, rather than from a draft-spurred urgency, opposition remains adamant and public support for the war continues to languish. Iraq may never fully equal Vietnam in terms of public vehemence, but this weekend's ambitious rally proved to be a fine demonstration of First Amendment ferocity.

Early Saturday afternoon, this DCist walked down to check out the march while his blog compatriots were scattered elsewhere on the mall. It was reported that there would be a smaller rally at Dupont Circle and, while this was true, it was not a very auspicious beginning to the day's activities. The gathering was centered around two men speaking from a rudimentary sound system. Dupont Circle -- while a splendid place to sit, read, or have your ass handed to you on a platter by the circle's resident chess masters -- is not an ideal place for making a speech. The circular layout means that, unless you have a raised platform from which to speak, no matter what part of the audience you're facing, you will have your back to everyone else. One of the speakers at the fountain was a slight, nervous man who took turns shouting half-hearted platitudes with another man who did the same in Spanish. The Spanish speaker sounded much more passionate than his English-speaking comrade, though that could be attributable to this DCist’s ignorance of Spanish. Both men spoke for some time, to a tepid response from the gathered crowd, anarchists mostly, garbed in their full regalia of black masks and women's jeans.

The rest of the day was vastly more impressive. By about 1 p.m., protestors were already beginning to make their way up East Executive Avenue from the enormous group gathered on the Ellipse. Police presence was light, especially compared to the intimidating phalanxes assembled for this year's presidential inauguration. There was no riot gear to be seen, although one officer standing guard in front of the White House itself was brandishing a hefty gas grenade launcher, evoking both uneasiness and some outrage from the crowd. Many officers that lined the sidewalks were armed in a curiously primitive manner, with long wooden rods that seemed more suited for Neanderthal hunting and gathering than for 21st century crowd control. Prehistoric appearance notwithstanding, the low-tech approach did a fine job conveying the fact that anyone who tried to cause a ruckus would be promptly cracked over the head if necessary. Thankfully, it was not necessary. Everyone was very well behaved. The most disorderly activity was a flurry of extended middle fingers and a few salvos of expletives, but as far as physical expressions of malcontent, everyone seemed to come in peace.

The march to the White House was raucous and lively, bustling with drums, chants, and the usual, if somewhat hackneyed signs. Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing, but one can only read "NO BLOOD FOR OIL!" scrawled in fluorescent magic marker so many times without yawning a bit. It was refreshing to see a few people carrying signs reminding the rest of the country that, despite a fortuitously distracting hurricane, Karl Rove is still around, and that whole CIA leak thing was never quite resolved. From this DCist’s position amid the tumult, it was difficult to even estimate the numbers present, but upon much gazing and consideration, and a few minutes spent atop a parked van, the general consensus of at least 100,000 is easy to believe.

As is expected at this sort of event, groups from the periphery arrived to seize the opportunity to piggyback their messages onto a rally whose purpose was to call for withdrawal from Iraq. There were socialists calling for the toppling of capitalism, anti-abortion zealots calling for the end of, as they referred to it, "The War Against The Womb," and anarchists calling for the toppling of pretty much everything. It’s always a bit dismaying to see the primary message of such an ambitious rally diluted by those eager for attention of their own, but free speech must always be swallowed, even when it isn’t your favorite flavor. We had hoped to see some counter-protesting action and, while we heard murmurs of its presence, including a few people complaining to police, they were nowhere to be seen in the general vicinity of the White House. If they were there, they were completely overwhelmed and drowned out by the massive swarm, although we must admit we were secretly hoping to see a good ideologue vs. ideologue shouting match, or maybe an original sign or two.

But there was no face-to-face shouting to be heard, nor any tension that came even close to devolving into factional fisticuffs. Things remained calm, even blithe, throughout most of the afternoon. Maybe it was all the drumming, the puppets, and bright colors, but the carnival atmosphere of the march failed to match the purported sense of outrage and direness that was etched across the countless hoisted signs. As mentioned before, this may be explained by the absence of a draft, so we would gladly keep a population of Americans armed with humdrum signs and chants than have those same Americans forced to trade in their placards for M-16’s. It was still a bit odd to see so many smiling faces during a day dedicated to, no matter what your personal politics may be, a grim situation overseas.

One of the few instances of genuine ire found were those of military mothers that had come out that day in honor of their sons, living or dead. One woman, on reaching the White House, broke from their ranks and began to scream and curse, seemingly on the brink of hysteria. Such impassioned lividity was rare. A more common sentiment, and one that is apparently completely compatible with the protest’s air of camaraderie, is one of disaffection and disillusionment — just being plain old pissed off.

As the large number of Americans that supported the war at its onset shrinks, we are left with a growing number that, rather than harboring a long-held opposition to the war, feel genuinely betrayed and misled. These were the most common faces seen, having made long and short trips to our city from all over the country. Clever signs and catchy chants may help, but the most powerful gesture of dissent is made simply through being present.

It was a proud moment for Washington, as those for the war, against abortion, for globalization, against imperialism, and every other manifold belief and opinion were able to converge on a few city blocks without being torn to shreds, either by the government or by each other. Although, inevitably, there were some mean looks: dressed in a grey power suit and red tie, a hapless bystander was the target of many an icy glare and snide remark. Some protestors were accusing him, both verbally and tacitly, of being with the CIA. Seriously. It got to the point where he started to go along with it, offering people the once in a lifetime opportunity to have their pictures taken with a real live CIA agent. Finally, half-laughing and half-annoyed, he remarked, "Come on folks, if the CIA is here today, they sure aren’t wearing suits."

For more reader-submitted photos from this weekend, check the DCist Photo page. The picture of the coffins and crosses was snapped by birdcage, and the picture of the protestors bearing a "Draft College Republicans sign" was taken by katmere.