Last week, thousands of demonstrators marched in Washington, D.C. to make a statement against the war in Iraq on its fourth anniversary. Similar demonstrations were held across the country, including in Seattle. While such demonstrations empower Americans to use their rights to organize, what's more important is the dialogue that Americans need to engage in to better understand the havoc this country is wreaking.

Discussions among Americans about the war at home, at work, at school or anywhere else seem to be few and fleeting. Thus, any attempts or opportunities to generate ideas and dialogue should be fostered.

But not everyone agrees. A New York Times article recently covered the drama that ensued after a principal in Connecticut canceled a play about the Iraq War titled Voices in Conflict, written by Wilton High School students, doubting its political balance and context. Students involved in the production said that the principal told them he thought that the material was inflammatory, and that only people who had been in Iraq could adequately understand the experience.

This thinking is wrong and extremely alarming on several levels.

The principal's action has free speech rights infringement written all over it, and unfortunately, high school students often get trampled on in this regard because administration and parents try to regulate them, even when it comes to creative endeavors like this play.

American adults don't appear to engage regularly in dialogue, and instead of encouraging these students to learn, this move puts the lid on their attempts to understand this catastrophic war. Wilton High School in particular has all the more reason to discuss the war, since Boston Globe correspondent Elizabeth Neuffer, killed in Iraq in 2003, graduated from the school.

In a very short time, high school students across the nation will graduate. Some will serve in the armed forces, while others will become the nation's policymakers. If they have the desire now to begin understanding the horrific legacy they will soon inherit, school administrators need to let them do just that.