A few weeks ago, I wrote an entry on my own blog about Cindy Sheehan.
The first words that came to mind say a lot:
Appalling. Disgusting. Incredibly fucking sick. This is the state of our country today. Bush's henchmen are now threatening to arrest Cindy Sheehan unless she leaves Crawford, TX immediately...
I had just heard Sheehan interviewed on Air America Radio at the time. I don't recall reading or seeing anything about her in the mainstream media before that. And I was angry...so angry. What I wrote above was a visceral, gut reaction. It continued to burn me...for example:
Cindy Sheehan is the sort of person who makes me proud to be an American. Those who would silence her do not. I'm tired of the hollow flag-waving, I'm tired of the hypocrisy, I'm tired of the "if you don't like it, why don't you leave?" crowd.Damn it. This is our country, too. Much as I'd like to see someone bitchslap Sean Hannity, I don't call in and tell him to move to France whenever he says something I don't like.
But of course, in the past few weeks, we've seen a lot of that. All the kitten stuff flying back and forth between the liberal and conservative blogs (seriously, who dreams up these memes?), the name-calling, the memorial-crosses-being-run-over-ing.
To what end? What's the point of knowing the details of Sheehan's pending divorce? It's all a distraction from the larger issues: free speech and expression, the right to dissent, the values this country was founded on and for...
It's amusing to me that the English King at the time of our country's independence was also named George. We railed against his increasing limitations of our freedom, and we rebelled. Presumably, most of the populace supported this rebellion, or we'd be Canada today. No longer — those who speak up, those who believe in the good fight are vilified.
Cindy Sheehan may have a snowball's chance in hell of achieving her original goal, but I think she's done something even better: made us think more deeply about the big picture, and where this country is going.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Richs
Shannon,
I hear the pack wolves coming to get you too, quick circle the wagons.
--Rich
2 - billy
good job. no one can touch sheehan because she is a private citizen expressing her views which is her right. anyone complaining needs to be asked why if they have som much free time and they back this war, "why havent they signed up, why havent their kids signed up."
if you have the time to counter protest cindy and you are so pro war, get the george bush yellow streak off your back and join up and stop working on "political campaigns" like the coward we have for a president did.
3 - Dave Nalle
>>Appalling. Disgusting. Incredibly fucking sick. This is the state of our country today. Bush's henchmen are now threatening to arrest Cindy Sheehan unless she leaves Crawford, TX immediately...
I had just heard Sheehan interviewed on Air America Radio at the time. I don't recall reading or seeing anything about her in the mainstream media before that. And I was angry...so angry. What I wrote above was a visceral, gut reaction. It continued to burn me...for example:<<
And did it anger you when you found out that she'd lied about this threat to arrest her, that it was all a figment of her imagination or perhaps made up by her publicist and that no such threat had ever been made? Because THAT should anger you even more - because you were manipulated and made part of her hate machine by that lie.
Dave
4 - crusader bunnypants
Supporters of war in Iraq should be on front lines
So let me get this straight - the United States government took the only secular country in the Middle East and turned it into an Islamic republic? The United States government installed and supported Saddam Hussein for decades; the same goes for Osama bin Laden. It's been 1,435 days since President Bush said he'd catch bin Laden dead or alive. Our government lied to start an illegal, pre-emptive war of conquest. The "we are fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here" argument is going to look pretty stupid after the next terrorist attacks. So now we are fighting for freedom. When the war started in Iraq, most UNM students were in the silent majority that supported the war. Those who were not were gassed, maced and shot at with pepper balls. The silent majority has a lot of blood on its hands. If you support the war in Iraq, what are you still doing here? Go defend Israel and big oil: 1-800-USA-ARMY.
5 - Anthony Grande
"Supporters of war in Iraq should be on front lines" by Crusader
Supporters of the war in Iraq ARE on the front lines. The troops in Iraq do support the war. Over 90% of them voted to reelect Bush. And most of the people that join the military are conservatives.
6 - Silas Kain
The minute MoveOn got involved in the Cindy Sheehan Show I took the whole damn thing with a grain of salt. I sympathize with her. She lost her son and no mother should ever bury their child. In that grief she has become the poster woman for the extreme left. In that same grief she has become the Anti-Christ for the extreme right. And what has been forgotten --- her son's rotting corpse that lays in the ground.
Look, I hate the fact we're in Iraq. I hate the fact that we may have been misled. But the fact remains, we are there. Two thousand Americans have lost their lives since the ultimate sacrifice of September 11th. We're there, let's get the job done. If the Iraqi people choose to take this opportunity for real democracy and twist it into some perverse, cruel theocracy - it is their choice. Then we should just bomb the hell out of the country and build a Wal-Mart in Baghdad.
7 - EMT907
So no accountability goes with the freedom of speech? If you've been Dowdified with "Moral Authority", you can do or say whatever the hell you want? Somehow I missed that part of the Constitution.
BTW, the effort to shift attention off of Cindy is an effort to shift attention from the hate she spews. Where's the "democrat" politicians? Why aren't they squatting in a ditch or erecting crosses on public property?
How can you oppose the war if you haven't been there and don't know what the hell's going on? You know you don't want the war supporters to enlist because you know damn well that you will be proven even more wrong.
8 - Silas Kain
The hate she spews? Jesus, have you no compassion at all for this woman. Her child, the boy she carried for nine months, is dead. As far as I am concerned, and I know this sounds cruel, I hope every conservative son of a bitch who has vilified Cindy Sheehan lives to bury one of their own children. Then let's see what the reaction will be! I don't necessarily agree with what Ms. Sheehan is doing but I respect her loss.
9 - billy
"Somehow I missed that part of the Constitution."
Constitution
"the freedom of speech shall not be infringed"
how'd you miss that one fascist? she isnt running to be head of the catholic church, so who cares what your opinion is of her?
10 - Shannon
Dave, ol' pal -- you know I was part of the "hate machine" long before she rolled into town ;)
(Look out! My sarcasmotron is on! -- as they'd say over at Bitch, Ph.D -- anyway, clever PR or no, she's certainly served as a catalyst for further thought, which is not always the case with in-the-news-gone-tomorrow stories)
"If the Iraqi people choose to take this opportunity for real democracy and twist it into some perverse, cruel theocracy - it is their choice. Then we should just bomb the hell out of the country and build a Wal-Mart in Baghdad."
Hoo boy, Silas. Don't give the Administration any ideas...
11 - Silas Kain
I just thought I'd throw that out there to be digested, Shannon. When Iraq does turn into a theocracy we should just impose economic sanctions. Oops, we can't do that. Halliburton and several oil companies would lose too much money. I wonder if anyone would object to Uncle Sam installing Reza Pahlavi, Jr. as Shah of Iraq?
12 - red stater
Left wing commies calling Bush a coward. You dumbasses had not trouble voting for draft dodging Clinton twice. Hypocrisy is par for the course in liberal America. Cindy Sheehan lost her son in Iraq..yes this is a terrible thing for a paren to have to experience...however that does not make her perfect..it does not mean the rest of us as american citizens have no right to ever question anything she may do or say. lots of other parents who have lost children in iraq have come out against cindy sheehan... but does the mainstream media cover those individuals? no because the MSM is a mouthpiece for the far left in this country and so isn't cindy sheehan..she's an anti semitic, america bashing pinhead..no wonder her husband and his family don't want to have anything to do with her.. you commie sons of bitches will never win.. no matter how hard you try......all your attempts to introduce socialism and communism into this country will fail.. this is america...... capitalism and kicking ass are the names of the game.......if you don't like it get the fuck out........move to france with all the other socialist, beret wearing, surrender monkies...... if you people had been around in 1941 we'd all be speaking german now........fact is the majority of the american public has had enough and your leftist attempts to destroy evrything decent, moral and traditional about america won't be tolerated anymore
13 - billy
"fact is the majority of the american public . . ."
and this is reflected how? by bush's 33% Iraq approval rating? sorry, you are in the minority.
14 - Dave Nalle
Billy, based on the approval rating Cindy Sheehan was getting for her activities I'd say the American people are just as fed up with her and her socialist controllers as they are with Bush. Maybe you should decide whether you're on their side of if it's time for you to start thinking for yourself and join us here in the rational middle.
Dave
15 - Silas Kain
Oh, red, you've made my point. We need to educate our children, especially in the red states! Grammar, punctuation and basic spelling all seem to be lacking.
Hypocrisy is par for the course in liberal America.
Sweetie, it is par for the course in ALL of America. Don't kid yourself. We're all hypocrites at one time or another. It's just that the ones with courage will admit it.
...no because the MSM is a mouthpiece for the far left in this country and so isn't cindy sheehan...
I guess you don't watch FOX News or some of the MSNBC programming. Don't they have it available in Pigeon Hollow?
..cindy sheehan..she's an anti semitic, america bashing pinhead...
My Country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of illiteracy...
...move to france with all the other socialist, beret wearing, surrender monkies...
So what is the difference between being anti-Semitic and a Franco-phobe? Does one not like borscht while the other hates cream puffs? What's wrong with wearing a beret? Are you making fun of the Green Berets? They are some of the greatest servants of America! How dare you pick on people who wear berets! And, I've never met a socialist Green Beret. Take that back, right now. By the way, the plural of monkey is monkeys.
....fact is the majority of the american public has had enough...
You are so right, my love! It's time to bring decency back to government! It's time to be moral and accept all people regardless of gender, race, religion, political indoctrination, sexuality or in your case, mental incapacity. The American Public has had enough and we're rising, my friend. We're opening our eyes and we're seeing the truth. The American tradition IS to stand up and question the government. The American tradition is to seek the truth and insure the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You, my friend, are the enemy of democracy. Deep down I think you wish we were all speaking German.
16 - JRH
Cindy Sheehan "far from perfect?" Cindy Sheehan an anti-semite? She's a pinhead? She "spews hate?"
People, People. There is something in the study of logical debate known as an argument ad hominem, or an "argument to the person". And that would be opposed to an argument to the point. This phrase refers to the slippery technique of attacking the messenger, rather than engaging the message. This is also known as "Rovian Debate," a technique of evasion made popular by the current White House Deputy Chief of Staff.
See, if a person has a point, the point stands, regardless of whether or not they live the truth of what they say, or if they happen to be a gutless, commie, furry-nosed, half-alligator, ex-con. Truth remains truth, regardless of the shape of the envelope, or the grime clinging to it. And the truth is, there are a lot of questions about the honesty of this administration. Trust me I have a lot more to say than that, but I would hope that a reasonable Republican can agree to even that much, right? There remain a lot of unanswered questions about the way we went to war. And those questions won't go away. And We the People will demand they be answered. Don't all of us want to know the truth? Or are some of us afraid to ask questions that cast Mr. Bush in a negative light?
There are some serious, serious questions about the integrity of this administration. And there is an ugly indisputable truth about the reason we were given for even considering attack a country that did not attack us: It doesn't exist anymore. The reason we were given does not exist. Oh, sure, like a cancer, it has mutated and then, once malignant, metastasized. Sure, carry the your debate to the SHEEHAN monster you love to hate. But let's not forget that the reason there are 2,000 people protesting the war down in Texas of all places, is because those questions the Right is running away from have a life of their own.
That is why Cindy Sheehan is a name that we all know. And that is why even if she doesn't go back to Texas, the fight to know truth will live on. Whether or not it is her face on the poster, or someone else's, is not relevant.
And to the author of the article, thank you for posting a reminder. These are important. You are right. This is much larger than Cindy Sheehan. This is exactly as big as our nation, and the pride we want to have in it.
17 - Dave Nalle
>>Don't all of us want to know the truth? Or are some of us afraid to ask questions that cast Mr. Bush in a negative light? <<
Go ahead and ask all the questions you want that cast the president in a negative light, but don't start whining when people ask similar questions about Cindy Sheehan and her controllers.
Dave
18 - JRH
Dave:
Cindy Sheehan doesn't make policy for our country. And I will continue to question Bush's policies, not his personality. Can you discern the distinction I am making?
19 - Dave Nalle
Of course. But Cindy Sheehan is a public, political figure now, and she has policy positions and an agenda she supports. That being the case she's as valid a target for criticism as Bush, Bin Laden or Pat Robertson.
Dave
20 - Silas Kain
The difference between Cindy Sheehan and George W. Bush is that President Bush was elected by the people to be our Head of State. In so doing he is accountable to each and every American. THAT, my friends, is the American Way! I fully agree that there are many questions that must be answered by this administration. Unfortunately, I don't trust anyone within the walls of the White House to give an accurate and fair accounting. With the departure of Colin Powell, any hope of decency and accountability from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was lost.
21 - JRH
But Cindy Sheehan's crass behavior, her right to protest or to criticize the government, and her emotional state is being attacked. That is irrelevant and juvenile.
Bush, our president, is being singled out for his misinformation, for his reasoning for taking our country to war on manipulated intelligence, etc, etc ad infinitum.
It is ridiculous to pretend not to understand the difference.
22 - Dave Nalle
Silas, every one of us is always accountable to everyone else for their actions. Most of the time it's irrelevant, but when you're a public figure or when your actions cause direct harm to others, then you're brought to account either in the court of public opinion or in a court of law. That's the way it works in America.
Cindy Sheehan, no matter what others may think, remains 100% responsible for her own actions and statements and should be held accountable for them - whether that makes her a hero, a villain or just a dupe.
Dave
23 - Silas Kain
On that point I will concede, Dave. At least you can say, "Mission Accomplished!"
24 - Dave Nalle
My mission is never accomplished, Silas, because it's I ride on an eternal cycle.
Dave
25 - Truthseeker
Christopher Hitchens: Cindy Sheehan disingenuous in denying writing that son died for Israel in Iraq
You might want to access the 'Comments' section via clicking on the 'Comments' link near the bottom of the following URL as well:
Cindy Sheehan disingenuous in denying writing that son died for Israel in Iraq
Sibel Edmonds