I was at the anti-war march in london on the 15th, and late afternoon when most people had finished, I saw a group of boys discard their placards on the floor and walk into a McDonalds (the one one the south side of westminster bridge).

I'd hardly class this picture as having any aesthetic value at all, let alone it being art. But it kind of summed some of my more cynical observations of the day. The march attracted many, many different groups of people. Ranging from animal rights activists who exclaimed that "war kills animals too", to some hard line muslims who were wielding aggressive borderline anti-semitic, pro-palestinian banners. Despite the different reasons for joining the march, everybody was at least in agreement that war was a bad thing. It also seemed to me however that a significant proportion of the marchers had simply turned up for the "craic", the atmosphere, for something to do. I was just wondering wether this was in fact the best example of democracy. Are our leaders actually listening when we march?

It seems to be that it would make more sense for everybody against the war to use their vote. Writing to your local MP, expressing your disgust at the current situation, and threatening to use your vote elsewhere, will probably achieve more than waving around an anti-war banner. Sponsored by the Daily Mirror.

What do you think?