Cindy Sheehan will be running against Republican Nancy Pelosi, in a bid for the US House. She made her threat that if Pelosi didn’t move to impeach President George Bush by July 23, Cindy would challenge her. True to her words, Cindy Sheehan made the announcement last Thursday that she will run.
Nancy Pelosi states that she is adamant about bringing the troops home, but believes that it must be done in a timely and safe manner. Apparently, that isn’t good enough for Sheehan.
Sheehan made world headlines, as she has undoubtedly been the war’s loudest voice of protest. Her son, Casey was killed while serving in Iraq. He was just 24 years old. It is understandable that Sheehan is sad and distraught over the loss of her son, however it amazes me that she never focuses on the fact that he willingly volunteered for the armed forces.
It is one thing, to protest the war, when there has been a draft, as with Vietnam, however there is no draft. Casey wasn’t killed because President George Bush sent him into combat against his will. Casey was a grown adult, who made a conscientious decision to defend the rights of his fellow Americans. He served his country and died receiving the highest honor any military member could receive.
Yes, it is painful and the sorrow is great. However, we cannot ignore the fact that Casey, like countless thousands in our Armed forces, knew that war is part of the Military package. Is it really fair to blame the President for his death?
Personally, I think not.
I also don’t think that Cindy Sheehan is going to get very far with her run against Nancy Pelosi. First, Nancy Pelosi has been in politics for a very long time, and she has been in Congress since 1987. The odds are immensely stacked against Sheehan. It has been reported that she has absolutely no financial backing (despite experience), and is refusing to accept money donated from companies.
I think this woman has lost her mind.
I’d like to know if she really believes that her son Casey would be proud of what she is doing. First, he joined the military willingly. He swore on an oath, to serve this country with his life. He did that. He knew what he was doing. He obviously didn’t ask his mother’s permission to join. Would he appreciate her vehement attack upon the nation and the president as well?
Military personnel are sworn to uphold the decisions of the president, whether they personally agree with them or not. The president is the head commander in chief. All military personnel know this. Casey joined the military and vowed to follow President Bush’s orders. He did follow the president’s orders, honorably and self-sacrificially. Would he find his mother’s behavior honorable? Would he find the actions of his mother honorable?
My gut says that he wouldn’t. If he felt the way she did, he would have run from the military as soon as he had a chance. Maybe Cindy Sheehan should stop running her mouth, and follow the example her son left as his legacy.
August 17th, 2007 - 3:15 am
Your position rests on two unproven (and unprovable) assumptions. The first is that Casey understood and approved of the ends and means of this war. The second is, assuming he was standing for something he believed in, he would somehow disaprove of his mother doing the same. Where would he have learned that from to begin with?
Those of us from the Naval Services understand that the commander is always responsible for the outcome regaredless of the motivations of his subordinates. There are, furthermore, as many motivations for joining (and staying, and going to war, and volunteering for elite units) as there are men in uniform. Neither you nor I will ever know Casey Sheehan’s reasons, only that he died, by violence, on foreign soil.
We do know, however, that his mother believes (1) he died for a false cause, (2) that he was the victim of a grand lie, and (3) that the CinC is responsible for same. Nothing that I am aware of her having said casts any degree on the service of her son or anyone else in uniform.
August 18th, 2007 - 7:11 am
Cindy Sheehan was a guest speaker at my college this past Spring. I went to see her, just so I could say, “I heard her out.” It was rather horrific.
At first she was far more personable that I expected, and I really feel for her loss. But she is a stark raving lunatic. Everything boiled down to her queer-ass antics in front of the White House and how every Republican ever was evil. (Apparently this was just before she decided that all Democrats were evil, as well.)
At the end, hey had a time of open question and answer and the first person who asked a question was clearly opposed to her (he’d been outside leading a protest against her) and began by saying, “My name is ___ and I am in the Army, I’ve served 2 tours of duty in Iraq and 2 in Afghan—” and she interrupted him and said, “Did you have a question or did you just want a public forum to brag about how many times you have been deployed?”
I was astounded.