To see the faces of the newly liberated Iraqi people this past week has greatly pleased many Americans. One of my first thoughts, however, was, "I wonder what the war protesters are thinking now?"

I have some pretty strong feelings about these war protesters, particularly the celebrity critics. I don't consider myself to have come from a military family necessarily, but my father and two uncles served in the military. Moreover, in the early 1940s, my grandfather and his brother did their part during World War II by providing steel fabrication for military tanks, right from their Covington shop. This year, my cousin Steve Kramer of Ft. Wright joined the U.S. Army.

I myself hold a rather rare distinction of having served in the U.S. Air Force and in the Peace Corps. Call it my wandering youth, but I'm proud of having served my country in that dual capacity.

I do not pretend to hold a candle to those brave soldiers serving in Iraq today. Indeed, I am thankful that I did not see combat while serving. I only jokingly claim to have "courageously fought in the Cold War" when I served in Belgium in the 1980s, at a base where we pointed missiles at the Soviet Union.

Later, in the early 1990s, I served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay, helping to improve housing conditions. And my wife, Juli, whom I met and married in Paraguay, served excellently, teaching modern techniques to Paraguayan special education teachers.

The work that we did overseas was important in and of itself. Yet equally important were the impressions we made overseas, as well as the impressions we gained there.

Which brings me to my main point. I wonder how many protesters in Hollywood and the music world have served their country in any meaningful capacity? The Dixie Chicks and Martin Sheen would argue that their art is their gift to the world. But have they ever served their country? Have they ever given the world a good impression about America? Have they gained any firsthand knowledge about the true living conditions in less fortunate countries?

These protesters take great pleasure in biting the hand that feeds them. I wonder if these same Hollywood protesters could have attained their status in another country. Yet they love to bash the nation that gave them their opportunities. They remind me of spoiled rotten children, pouting if things don't go their way, and ungrateful when they do. And isn't it ironic that Hollywood does not hesitate to get rich off war movies, yet protests the real thing?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that you cannot protest unless you first serve your country in some manner. But you would earn more respect if you do.

Paraguay had been suffering under its own dictatorship when a 1989 coup paved the way for democracy in that country. When I arrived there three years later, Paraguayans were still struggling with the concepts of liberty and democracy, but they were happy and eager to learn. That is why today's images of Iraq are so sweet to me.

Even if we find no chemical weapons in Iraq, nor any terrorist links, just to see the faces of free Iraqis makes this war worthwhile. I don't see how anyone could fail to understand this. That is, unless you never served your own country, never cared about anyone but yourself, and never knew the world outside your own.

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Kurt Borne is from Independence. Borne is a member of the Enquirer's Local Voices panel, which contributes columns to the opinion pages twice a week.