Thoughts on Cindy Sheehan
The whole Cindy Sheehan saga is the story of a mother who lost her son, joined up with a bunch of left-wing kooks, then used her son’s death to advocate ending the War in Iraq by playing in a ditch near Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas. The “Rallies for Cindy,” spawned by her anti-war fatalism and organized by members of MoveOn.org, are emblematic of what’s wrong with the Left. Glancing through the comments recorded by MoveOn.org from the peacenik vigil, it is easy to pierce through their symbolic gesture of “Support the Troops” to focus on what the mean when the anti-war utter those words:
2-year old who said to me first thing ‘support our troops, bring them home. - Janet A., East Lansing, Michigan
Anti-war rant, from the mouth of babes. Indoctrinating them young, aren’t they? Unfortunately, supporting the war effort does not mean bringing the troops home. Supporting the troops means sending letters of encouragement, supporting the war effort (not discouraging it), and praising and honoring the valiant soldiers who traverse the sand-encrusted deserts of Baghdad. One can disagree with the war effort, but that disagreement cannot be tied to supporting the troops because the troops are fighting the war. You can do both things–disagree and support the troops–but disagreement with the war does not equal support. Rather, the rampant dispargement of our war effort by the Left demeans the soldiers and smacks of disrespect of the military’s sacrifice for our freedoms.
Also, MoveOn’s snapshot of the vigils suggests yet another attempt to compare The War in Iraq to Vietnam:
Being there with my wife and daughter was the most moving moment, sharing comments with another Vietnam era vet. - Hank B., Wethersfield, Connecticut
When the Vietnam Vet spoke. I had just met him and he was quite eloquent and to the point. It was very moving. - Vivian G., Corpus Christi, Texas
Two or three Vietnam veterans happened upon our vigil and join in with love, tears and peace in their hearts. They were very grateful. A mom whose son is leaving in 5 weeks for Iraq was there and was comforted by all the love and connections. A young woman put a photo of here brother in Iraq on our small altar. - Katherine S., Lake Worth, Florida
Try as MoveOn does to re-invent the chicanery of John Kerry and his anti-war crowd, their puny rallies cannot muffle the truth: Iraq is not Vietnam. President Bush isn’t pulling out. Too many Americans are more-informed about the war effort and will not fall for the lies of the anti-war Left. We have won the War in Iraq, the only question remains is how the Iraqis will govern themselves, Islamically or democratically. Too bad Cindy is fighting on the wrong side of history, again.