‘Too long a sacrifice’
Thursday, May 31, 2007
CINDY SHEEHAN has resigned as the poster mom of the antiwar movement. She has had enough.
Not quite two years ago, Sheehan camped outside the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, demanding to speak to the president about her son, a soldier who was killed in Baghdad in 2004.
Sheehan said she wanted to ask the president if the war in Iraq was really justified — if the war was worth the life of her son, Casey. The president refused to meet with her, and his refusal made Sheehan a rallying point for other people whose questions about the wisdom of the war had been met by the same stony silence.
Unfortunately, she also became a rallying point for people less interested in stopping the war and saving lives than in gaining political advantage by scoring points off the administration. She also became a convenient target for people convinced that anyone who questioned the war was, at heart, an enemy of the United States.
Sheehan’s supporters did her the disservice of placing her on a pedestal as a sort of ubermom. Her foes did all they could — including lying about her — to knock her off that pedestal.
Sometimes, Sheehan harmed her own cause. She was not wise to meet with Hugo Chavez, the leftist president of Venezuela, who used her for his own propaganda purposes and diminished her standing with the American people.
She could not control Chavez and neither could she control her supporters, who increasingly followed their own agendas. Sheehan became the figurehead on a ship that was being steered by other people.
But through it all, she remained essentially what she is — an mother angered and deeply wounded by the death of her eldest child.
On Tuesday, she left the property she owns in Crawford to return to her home in California. She told The Associated Press that she had had enough.
“I’ve been wondering why I’m killing myself and wondering why the Democrats caved in to George Bush,” she said.
“I’m going home for a while to try and be normal.”
In a bitter entry in her blog on dailykos.com, Sheehan indicated that she has found her own answer to the question the president would not answer.
“... Casey did indeed die for nothing ... killed by his own country which is beholden to and run by a war machine that even controls what we think.”
Agree with her or not, Sheehan has always had the right to that opinion and the right to express it.
Even to the president of the United States.
Comments
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zoahjoe (anonymous) says...
It is true every American has the right to express their views on the goverment.However I found Sheenhen, quite obnoxious and her supporters were disrespectful of our community, when she visited the Green Mountain State.It is tragic to bury a child, yet her child made the decision to sign up and defend his country. It seemed that part of the story was often lost in the shuffle. I am surprised she has gone away, she seemed to relish the media spotlight. When she stood next to Hugo Chavez and praised him, that was when the media should have written her off. As far as the country being " run by a war machine that even controls what we think", it seems like her feelings have been hurt that she is no longer the media darling, so blame the goverment. It was group of her supporters that protested at a slain soliders funeral, chanting and waving signs. It was disgusting. I say good bye Ms. Sheehan. You will not be missed.
June 2, 2007 at 7:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )