Cindy Sheehan brings these things upon herself. Furthermore, it's quite apparent that this news item illustrates the "two-way street" in our bi-polarized government. The article also states that Rep Bill Young's (R-Fl) wife was asked to cover the offending message on her own shirt. That message was "Support Our Troops." Sheehan's shirt read "2,245 dead. How many more." While I support the right to free expression under any circumstances, it seems a bit more ridiculous to censor the message of Rep. Young's wife than that of Sheehan, who has emerged as a self-serving rabble rouser with no regard for America or our troops. What we have here is kind of interesting, on a cultural level. Cindy Sheehan's son chose to enlist, putting himself in harm's way for his nation (or possibly for G.I. benefits). She had the opportunity to encourage him to chooose another vocation. At this point she shows little respect for his choice. Rather than honoring his committment and sacrifice, she chooses to blame the government for the fact that her son willfully enlisted and died in our military. Oftentimes, liberals find themselves defending the choices of children in the face of the sort of parental dissatisfaction more commmonly associated with "closed-minded" conservative establishment types. In this instance, we have a woman of the hippie generation refusing to support the choice made by her generation Y son. Had he chosen to attend college, work for NORML, burn up a trust fund, backpack through Holland, protest a war, attend rallies, get an MBA and then join the establishment, his mother might have given full approval. It's interesting to see how parents react to their children's choices. Had he attended college, he might have died as a result of binge drinking. Would Cindy Sheehan set up camp outside of Anheiser Busch or the University of Wisconson and demanded answers and audiences with figureheads? Sheehan does little to honor her son's sacrifice. In fact, she does not view her son's death as a sacrifice. Rather, she seems to feel that her son was murdered by the president. She gives the impression that the 2,244 other fatalities in the war in Iraq were also homicides committed by President Bush. She also fails to weigh a few factors in her sloganeering. On September 11th, 2001 a similar number of Americans were killed in one hour. Three years of war in Iraq haven't touched the number of lives snuffed out in that one day. After the 9/11/01 attacks, all Americans were frightened of what was to come next. Some demanded retribution, others justice, but all demanded safety. In order to acheive that level of safety, some degree of military action was in order. First came Afghanistan. It was a rousing success and the President commmanded a 90% approval rating. Iraq came next. A wisely chosen war, in terms of gaining a strategic vantage point. I do believe most Americans feel safer with Saddam out of power and the playing field of the war on terror brought to a faraway arena. It's a far better thing to fight these groups in Iraq than in Philadelphia or NYC. In their hatred for all things Republican, many war-opponents have forgotten both the fear and desire for safety that the WTC attacks left in their wake. They have pushed Cindy Sheehan to the forefront of their rally, allowing her to function as the mouthpiece they need to sway the hearts and minds of the public. While the Michael Moores of the world revel with glee at the thought of toppling Bush the goliath with their rhetoric and raw emotion, Cindy Sheehan merely grieves. Her supporters share none of that grief, their empathy misplaced and their motivations being a combination of anger and ennui. Let her grieve in private. Let our warriors win this battle with our public support. Dagmar wrote:
Well, if you had any doubts left as to whether or not Bush had any respect at all for Freedom of Speech, this CNN article should clear that right up for ya'. She wore a t-shirt with an anti-war slogan on it. They asked her to cover it up, she refused, they arrested her for "unlawful conduct". I'd like to know exactly when fashion went from being a matter of personal taste, to carrying the force of law.
RE: Cindy Sheehan arrested for... wearing a shirt! |
