Topic: Iraq War
At First I thought about titling this post,
Why They Need To Lose
or maybe
Why They HAVE to Lose
It contains a perfect and sordid example of why
I decided some of the thing said by the Left in control of the Democratic Party, I no longer wanted to be said in MY name.
Not that I paint the entire Party with the same tar brush, it contains many good decent sincere people and there IS hope for them, they can still wake up and become Neo-Cons.
But it is obvious that some on the Left side of the Political Aisle have diverged so far from what most Americans think, believe and feel, that they no longer realize the disgust some of us might feel, seeing their plans laid out in plain sight.
If you can stomach it, read through the following, after which I will detail my reactions and thoughts.
Framing Cindy Sheehan - we are making errors
by dataguy
Sat Aug 13th, 2005 at 06:56:05 PDT
We are making errors with references to Cindy Sheehan.
What are we trying to accomplish with promoting her?
1. Emphasizing her sacrifice.
2. Emphasizing her stating truth to power.
3. Emphasizing her plain speaking, clear statements.
4. Relate her vigil over her dead son to universal archetypes of all vigils over dead children killed by dictatorial rulers throughout all history.
My suggestions below:
* dataguy's diary :: ::
*
1. We should call her "Mother Sheehan". We should never call her Cindy; I don't know her. "Mother Sheehan" is her title, and expresses her ceremonial status as a bereaved mother, calling forth over the dead body of her son. She is not a person now, she is a mother, which is not an expression of her individuality, but rather the expression of her eternal character: the mother, the bringer of life who has been wronged by state power.
2. We should use the word "sacrifice". She has sacrificed the most precious thing a mother has, the life and promise of her child.
3. We should use the word "useless" frequently. The death of her son is a useless sacrifice, done for the vanity of the ruler.
4. We should not use the name of her son. Her son is a symbol of all sons who have been sacrificed for this useless and criminal war.
5. The term "vigil" should be used to describe the persons and their patient petition to the dictatorial ruler. It is a vigil over the body of the dead son, killed by the ruler for his own purposes.
6. The right will try to INDIVIDUALIZE and SPECIALIZE her complaint. We must try to make her cry the UNIVERSAL and ETERNAL cry of all mothers whose children have died at the whim of the tyrannical and dictatorial ruler, who has made the decision to push children to the front of the army for his own, useless purposes. We must seek to make this like funeral vigils over all time. This is not Mother Sheehan's vigil, this is a vigil over the dead son, killed by the ruler for his own selfish reasons.
7. If there are any persons who are theatre professionals at the Sheenan vigil, they should arrange things much more theatrically.
8. If I was there, I would not let Mother Sheehan talk to the press, but I would have her talk only through a spokesperson. In particular, I wouldnot allow her to argue with critics, and would allow no critics to approach her. Her dignity must be preserved. If lesser emissaries from the ruler arrive (C Rice, etc), these should not be allowed to speak to Mother Sheehan."
There you have it folks, FIRST Casey Sheehan must be forgotten and his name never used. Why? It is simple. This Nation no longer uses conscript troops to fight its Battles. Our men and women in uniform are all VOLUNTEERS. For various reasons they choose to serve, None are rounded up and forced to serve their country.
Casey Sheehan was such a person, In a website I often go to called Parkway Rest Stop Casey ( I will NOT allow this brave man's name to go unmentioned) is discussed.
Posted by: Dan at August 12, 2005 12:39 AM
Casey enlisted in the Army in 2000. His mother did not sign the enlistment papers, he did. While on leave, Ms. Sheehan tried to convince him to go AWOL to Canada. Casey refused and told her that as much as he didn't want to go to Iraq, his buddies were there and he couldn't let them down.
We're all a little poorer for having lost Casey. He was a straight-up honest guy with a lot more integrity than his mother is displaying. Instead of honoring her own son's true character, she is making him out to be some sort of friggin idiot by stating that "he never imagined being involved in a combat situation." Any of us who have been in the military know that you would have to be a complete imbecile to believe that. You know from the moment you receive small arms training why they are teaching you to shoot (both sides). You can't help but notice almost every street sign on your base or post has the name of someone who died in a "combat situation." You may think it's not probable, but you know it's always possible.
I give Ms. Sheehan credit for having raised a son with the character to honor his fellow soldiers even while he knew it might cost him his life
Everyone handles grief differently, I will make no statement about Mrs. Sheehan's actions. But she is not the only American Mother who has lost a loved one in this conflict. Thousands have , some BEFORE out entry into Iraq. I lost a cousin in Beirut. His name was also Casey. But HE thought what he was doing MATTERED, my Cousin Casey thought serving his country MEANT something.
But these people on DailyKos? They want to forget and ignore that there was even a Man named Casey Sheehan, They want only a symbol that they can use theatrically. They want to take over and rewrite the Story of his life and just to make certain this is done with out mistakes?
They don't even want to
ALLOW HIS MOTHER TO SPEAK
She might not do it the way THEY want?
In our own Grief we often forget how much others Grieve. Iraq the Model has a touching message to Mrs. Sheehan on his website.
A message to Cindy Sheehan
I realize how tragic your loss is and I know how much pain there is crushing your heart and I know the darkness that suddenly came to wrap your life and wipe away your dreams and I do feel the heat of your tears that won't dry until you find the answers to your question; why you lost your loved one?
I have heard your story and I understand that you have the full right to ask people to stand by your side and support your cause. At the beginning I told myself, this is yet another woman who lost a piece of her heart and the questions of war, peace and why are killing her everyday. To be frank to you the first thing I thought of was like "why should I listen or care to answer when there are thousands of other women in America, Iraq and Afghanistan who lost a son or a husband or a brother??
But today I was looking at your picture and I saw in your eyes a persistence, a great pain and a torturing question; why?
I know how you feel Cindy, I lived among the same pains for 35 years but worse than that was the fear from losing our loved ones at any moment. Even while I'm writing these words to you there are feelings of fear, stress, and sadness that interrupt our lives all the time but in spite of all that I'm sticking hard to hope which if I didn't have I would have died years ago.
I won't post the entire message here. I want you to go to Iraq the Model and read what Mohammed wrote there. It may help to take the taste of the post in DailyKos out of your mouth.
He closes with these words.
Your son sacrificed his life for a very noble cause?No, he sacrificed himself for the most precious value in this existence; that is freedom.
His blood didn't go in vain; your son and our brethren are drawing a great example of selflessness.
God bless his free soul and God bless the souls of his comrades who are fighting evil.
God bless the souls of Iraqis who suffered and died for the sake of freedom.
God bless all the freedom lovers on earth.
Mrs. Sheehan is not the only American mother to lose a loved one in this struggle, Thousands have. Some of them lost them before this battle in what I think of as a Long and Bitter War.
As I stated before my family lost a member in Beirut. His name was Casey too. My Cousin thought what HE did had meaning. My family agrees. He is remembered, with honor and love.
THEY would like to extinguish the name and desires of Casey Sheehan. They want to rewrite the Story of his Life into a Tale of something USELESS instead of something that had MEANING!
THAT is why the need to lose in the political arena of this Country.
THAT is why they HAVE to lose.
That is why decent Americans must speak out against this sordid distortion of a Brave Man's Life and tell them.
NOT IN OUR NAME
Do you spit on this Brave Soldier's Memory!
Keep in mind this thought, this is their own words.
We should not use the name of her son.
His name is CASEY SHEEHAN and it shines BRIGHTLY with HONOR.
NEVER FORGET THIS
You can leave a message in memory of this soldier, and/or to the loved ones left behind.
Notice
This is a memorial page for Spc. Casey Sheehan. This is not a political forum nor Cindy Sheehan's personal message board. Any messages not directly related to Spc. Casey Sheehan are inappropriate for this website and will be removed or edited.
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Updated: Sunday, 3 June 2007 6:39 AM CDT