Smash the State

In between herbal enemas at Robert Redford's Park City get together, they showed the documentary "Chicago 10." It's by Brett Morgen, and it's about the Chicago Seven, a group put on trial for their protests at the 1968 Democrat convention:

One of his goals in making the documentary, he told the more than 1,000 people in attendance, was to "mobilize the youth in the country to get out and stop this war." He was, obviously, referring to the current war in Iraq...

Hayden, who attended the premiere, was impressed. He took the stage after the premiere and wondered aloud how Morgen, who was born after the 1968 protests and trial, could have captured the intense emotion of the time.

All well and good. I haven't seen it but I'll take Hayden's word that it was well done. But what I don't see is how it relates to the war in Iraq. Really, the Chicago Seven trial wasn't even about the Vietnam war. It was about the right to protest. The Chicago police were brutal and the trial pretty much pointed that out. So where is the relevance today? Protests today are protected. Billy clubs don't come out. Protesters have to try to get arrested. Is the message, "protest now because they'd like to brutally oppress you"? Regardless, you really have to squint and turn your head to the side to see this as a reason to protest the action in Iraq. It's in the same league as treating Sands of Iwo Jima as a pro-Iraq film.