Anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan gives up her protest
National NewsWell, I can't say that I'm sad to see her go, but Cindy Sheehan is hanging up her protesters belt. Her protest against her sons death because a twisted, bitter rant against anyone who did not share her skewed view of the world...including former allies and friends. She ruined her health, ruined her marriage, and is now nearly capsized in debt because of her 3-year tirade against the government.
Even in her exit letter, appropriately titled "Good Riddance Attention Whore" (no kidding, that's really the title), she still fired a parting shot at the Bush administration stating that her son did indeed "die for nothing". She even takes a stab at the democrats and the public, specifically stating that the county is more concerned about who the next American Idol will be than the death of her son.
That is sad to me. I have lost two friends now, a third is an amputee and none of their parents feel as though they died (or were wounded) for "nothing". Their deaths were horrible events in their lives, but they know that their sons died fighting for a cause they personally believed in.
I don't want to come across as though I'm fully supporting the way with which this crisis has been handled, but the men on the ground do see they are making a difference, despite the media's attention to only the violence. It is sad to me that Sheehan will go to her grave not seeing that...blinded her tunnel vision of a war without meaning.
I don't want this war, but I can see it does have meaning to those people who are able to make a difference. I can see that it will help the Middle East IF we can improve management of the situation (Iraqi, Afghani and Coalition). Afghanistan has regular education again with women actually being able to learn to read and write. I can see that despite the awful toll of American deaths (3400+), we are doing a great deal more than we have ever been able to in order to protect our soldiers. More people will die from cigarettes in the US over the next few days than we've lost to enemy fire in 4 years in Iraq.
Your son didn't "die for nothing", Cindy. He died for a cause he believed in. He died doing what he believed was the right thing. Remember him as a hero, not a victim.
~Dubya
I couldn't agree more.
I don't agree with the war in Iraq personally. I think Afghanistan is where we should have been all along, fighting the real battle against the real threat.
But regardless of my personal opinions, these men and women have given their lives fighting for a cause they believe in - the United States of America. Regardless of whether or not they think this war is right, they risk their lives DAILY for this cause, because they believe strongly in their duty as an American Citizen. And you can't help but respect them for that.
To me, Cindy Sheehan has basically desecrated the memory of her son. She has let her grief over his death push her into insanity. She has gone against EVERYTHING her son gave his life for. How, in anyone's mind, can that be honoring his memory? That woman makes me so mad, I have to change the channel anytime ANYTHING about her comes on. Regardless of how you or I or she feels about this war - she should be honoring her son by saying he died fighting for what he believed in. He died standing strong in his conviction to do what is right and he deserves to be remembered for that, NOT remember because his mother went crazy against the government after his death...
I hope she will be able to repair her life and move on.
If the son felt it was the right thing to risk his life for, it was.
If you think it was for nothing, it was that also.
There is no correctness involved, only opinion or belief.
I think it it was tragic rather than for nothing.
I'm also mad at my government.
I don't agree with the ways Sheehan protested. But I don't know her mind or her heart. We all take what life deals and the way we handle it is our way. I haven't been in her situation and don't know what I would do.
Some of the hardest lessons I've been dealt are to accept the decisions and directions my children have taken differently than I would have, differently than I wanted for them. Sometimes I watch the struggles and hurts they go through and wish I could have saved them that lesson. In the end, it's their life and they make the decisions, celebrate the victories, and take the lessons from the stumbles. It's the way it should be. A wise person once said, "A parent is just about as happy as their least happy child." It's an all consuming love and when you get that much emotion involved you have all kinds of possibilities for behavior.
I have so many questions and there aren't many answers. I want a better way than this war. I'm mad at my government for the deaths of our soldiers, the deaths of innocents in Iraq, the destruction to their country.
Dubya, when you make a statement such as, "More people will die from cigarettes in the US over the next few days than we've lost to enemy fire in 4 years in Iraq.," do you mean the number of deaths in Iraq is a low negligible number compared to _____? Are those deaths from cigarettes going to change because of something that happens in Iraq? What does that kind of comparison mean? All I can see is that people die of various causes and now that our soldiers are in Iraq you can add yet another possible cause to the list of how they may die. I see no reason to those kinds of comparisons.
Our soldiers don't choose the battles but they willingly volunteer to go where they are sent, do what they are told, and serve all of us and our country. I am humbled by people so willing to give and sacrifice.
Whether or not our government officially acknowledges it, our soldiers are still at war, and in no time in history have our men and women been in harms way to this extent and had such a (relatively) low number of casualties.
My comment was only meant to defend the good job our soldiers are doing under fire, not AT ALL to suggest there are bigger problems than our soldiers dying. Every soldier lost to combat is tradgic and humbling beyond words for me.
Dubya
All for bush's war of choice. There has never been a worse or more incompetent person in the office of president.
The soldiers did what they said -- followed orders, sacrificed for their country. They deserve better leadership than the idiot in charge.
Time out!
"Your son didn't "die for nothing", Cindy. He died for a cause he believed in."
Casey Sheehan was anti-war in Iraq. To say that he believed in the cause is not accurate. For others to claim Casey for their own cause is wrong. He was Cindy Sheehan's son, not yours.
People are also surprised that Pat Tillman was anti-war regarding Iraq, considering the war to be illegal. He was also an atheist.
Things are not always what the seem. Those that die for the Bush War of Choice do not always believe in the war.
While I understand your point, I don't know where you got the information that Spc. Sheehan didn't believe in the war. By all accounts, he wanted to join the military from the start. In fact, he reenlisted knowing that his unit was preparing for a tour in Iraq. Anyone who wants to join the military undoubtedly knows that there is a possibility of going to war at any time, and according to accounts of his death, he actually volunteered for the service that led to his death... Now, perhaps, he did not agree with the reasons WHY we were in Iraq, as so many of us do not, but to say that he did not believe in what he was fighting for, I find that hard to believe...
http://www.militarycity.com/valor/257123.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Sheehan
To me, the saddest part about this is her saying that her son "died for nothing". If her son had been killed by a drunk driver, or other such tragedy, that would have been "nothing" Her son did not die for nothing - he died for what HE believed in... and all accounts of HIS feelings reflect that.
I said it before and I will say it again - the war in Iraq is wrong - we don't belong there, it is a huge mess in so many ways. However, what Cindy Sheehan has done to her son's memory is in so many ways, to me at least, so much more detrimental...
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