Cindy Sheehan & Friends: Forcing a Counter-Culture
Allan J. Ashinoff
March 23, 2006
I can't help but laugh when I read the liberal left's articles portraying Cindy Sheehan as the "proud and grieving mother" of Army Specialist Casey Sheehan (killed in Sadr City, Iraq in 2004). The "self-sacrificing nobility" applied to her by these authors would have her parallel to Gandhi... or at least Jane Fonda. It seems like, to believe this inane drivel, you would think that one would have to have been sharing space with Saddam in a spider hole, completely cut off from reality for the last few years. Surely these articles are written to give some spark to the irreverent (and increasingly irrelevant) Ms. Sheehan; her influence is waning and even moderately left-leaning people are beginning to see her for the anti-American mouthpiece she is.
No one can dispute that Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, her son, was killed in Iraq as a result of President Bush's policy against terrorism. No one in America would deny a mother her grief or the expression of her loss in Casey's heartbreaking death. But the words of Ms. Sheehan haven't been much about her son; indeed, he hasn't been the focus in her cause for quite some time. Instead, Ms. Sheehan's words have been self-serving and self-promoting, using her son Casey's death as a mere footnote in her efforts to validate her credibility. Casey's death has become nothing more than a qualifying ticket to speak out against the country her son chose to serve, to defend, and to die for. Casey Sheehan's death is, today, nothing short of a commodity to this mother. His death is her backstage pass to rub elbows with the head honchos at "World Can't Wait" rallies, to replenish her speaking points with elite leftist international socialists, and to befriend the Hollywood Democratic elite. His death is, to put it bluntly, her opportunity to be the center of attention.
A mother's pride? The only "pride" Cindy Sheehan has demonstrated seems to be in the level of malice she has been able to throw against her son's memory, long after his death. Could Cindy's 'project' be nothing more than a mothers final uncontested "I told you so" to a strong willed son who dared ignore her wishes twice?
The pride some leftist authors’ award to Ms. Sheehan appears very much to be attributed to how she has been able to cast off her pain and suffering- twisting and contorting the very ideals Casey pledged to live by when he re-enlisted; almost equal in part to the amount of money she's attracting to her puppet masters' causes. The 'pride' must have a great deal to do with the notoriety she is bringing to her comrades- She parades through socialist and communist nations, chumming it up with Chavez and degrading her sons memory by defaming the cause he believed in enough to die for. What degree of pride is this? For whom? To what purpose?
A mother's grief? I have no doubt Ms. Sheehan genuinely grieved for her son Casey... at one time. I also have no doubt, on the other hand, that Casey's death now serves as a convenient badge she dangles around her neck, enabling her to promote her personal beliefs without a shred of respect for her son (or his beliefs).
Ms. Sheehan? Would Casey choose to be seen with you at the communist-sponsored rallies you've attended? Would he have traveled with you to Venezuela to berate his nation at the side of Hugo Chavez? Mourning indeed wears a curious face when it comes to "Mother Sheehan". Cindy's benefactors have carried her so-called "grief" triumphantly on their shoulders to Europe, Australia, South America, and all over the United States. Her agonized wails have gained the anti-American agenda she promotes an audience- with limelight seeking US politicians, with anti-war foreign leaders, each with their own agenda, their own "pet projects" for her to sidle up to. In the meantime, her antics have given fodder to both reporters hungry to create a bountiful writing environment, as well as the terrorists who glom onto each and every shred of proof that the US is the "Great Satan" they purport it to be.
Does Casey Sheehan's grave even have headstone years after mother Sheehan received his Serviceman’s life insurance? No.
Why has this "grief stricken" mother's personal eulogy website not been updated since May of 2005? Why has she, a "poor weeping mother" in grief for her son, ABANDONED her own personal website in exchange for readership on huffingtonpost.com or michaelmoore.com? Since when does the death of a loved one constitute expertise in any subject? Since when does a mother manipulating the memory of her child constitute being signed to tour as a professional speaker?
The press seems content to ignore the details of the 'sensation which is Cindy Sheehan' as they hope to build her ‘grief’ and ‘mourning’ into many years worth of writing and analysis of what ‘could have’ and what ‘should have’ been. Perhaps the media is hoping for another Watergate or at least a repeat of the Clinton scandals? Perhaps there is the desire to see President Bush on television saying "I am not a crook," as President Nixon once did prior to his resignation.
Since the media prefers not to ask or answer these questions perhaps Ms. Sheehan can tell us the answers to these questions; after all, she is divining her son's words these days.
I can be reached via yahoo messenger at thinker822@fedupwithpc.com or via e-mail at thinker822@fedupwithpc.com. All of my articles contain embedded links to verify assertions which can be found via my community discussion website www.fedupwithpc.com. Live chat sessions with the author are held every Wednesday evening at www.fedupwithpc.com with only guest access. Feedback is always welcome as is discussion on anything I’ve written.
No one can dispute that Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, her son, was killed in Iraq as a result of President Bush's policy against terrorism. No one in America would deny a mother her grief or the expression of her loss in Casey's heartbreaking death. But the words of Ms. Sheehan haven't been much about her son; indeed, he hasn't been the focus in her cause for quite some time. Instead, Ms. Sheehan's words have been self-serving and self-promoting, using her son Casey's death as a mere footnote in her efforts to validate her credibility. Casey's death has become nothing more than a qualifying ticket to speak out against the country her son chose to serve, to defend, and to die for. Casey Sheehan's death is, today, nothing short of a commodity to this mother. His death is her backstage pass to rub elbows with the head honchos at "World Can't Wait" rallies, to replenish her speaking points with elite leftist international socialists, and to befriend the Hollywood Democratic elite. His death is, to put it bluntly, her opportunity to be the center of attention.
A mother's pride? The only "pride" Cindy Sheehan has demonstrated seems to be in the level of malice she has been able to throw against her son's memory, long after his death. Could Cindy's 'project' be nothing more than a mothers final uncontested "I told you so" to a strong willed son who dared ignore her wishes twice?
The pride some leftist authors’ award to Ms. Sheehan appears very much to be attributed to how she has been able to cast off her pain and suffering- twisting and contorting the very ideals Casey pledged to live by when he re-enlisted; almost equal in part to the amount of money she's attracting to her puppet masters' causes. The 'pride' must have a great deal to do with the notoriety she is bringing to her comrades- She parades through socialist and communist nations, chumming it up with Chavez and degrading her sons memory by defaming the cause he believed in enough to die for. What degree of pride is this? For whom? To what purpose?
A mother's grief? I have no doubt Ms. Sheehan genuinely grieved for her son Casey... at one time. I also have no doubt, on the other hand, that Casey's death now serves as a convenient badge she dangles around her neck, enabling her to promote her personal beliefs without a shred of respect for her son (or his beliefs).
Ms. Sheehan? Would Casey choose to be seen with you at the communist-sponsored rallies you've attended? Would he have traveled with you to Venezuela to berate his nation at the side of Hugo Chavez? Mourning indeed wears a curious face when it comes to "Mother Sheehan". Cindy's benefactors have carried her so-called "grief" triumphantly on their shoulders to Europe, Australia, South America, and all over the United States. Her agonized wails have gained the anti-American agenda she promotes an audience- with limelight seeking US politicians, with anti-war foreign leaders, each with their own agenda, their own "pet projects" for her to sidle up to. In the meantime, her antics have given fodder to both reporters hungry to create a bountiful writing environment, as well as the terrorists who glom onto each and every shred of proof that the US is the "Great Satan" they purport it to be.
Does Casey Sheehan's grave even have headstone years after mother Sheehan received his Serviceman’s life insurance? No.
Why has this "grief stricken" mother's personal eulogy website not been updated since May of 2005? Why has she, a "poor weeping mother" in grief for her son, ABANDONED her own personal website in exchange for readership on huffingtonpost.com or michaelmoore.com? Since when does the death of a loved one constitute expertise in any subject? Since when does a mother manipulating the memory of her child constitute being signed to tour as a professional speaker?
The press seems content to ignore the details of the 'sensation which is Cindy Sheehan' as they hope to build her ‘grief’ and ‘mourning’ into many years worth of writing and analysis of what ‘could have’ and what ‘should have’ been. Perhaps the media is hoping for another Watergate or at least a repeat of the Clinton scandals? Perhaps there is the desire to see President Bush on television saying "I am not a crook," as President Nixon once did prior to his resignation.
Since the media prefers not to ask or answer these questions perhaps Ms. Sheehan can tell us the answers to these questions; after all, she is divining her son's words these days.
I can be reached via yahoo messenger at thinker822@fedupwithpc.com or via e-mail at thinker822@fedupwithpc.com. All of my articles contain embedded links to verify assertions which can be found via my community discussion website www.fedupwithpc.com. Live chat sessions with the author are held every Wednesday evening at www.fedupwithpc.com with only guest access. Feedback is always welcome as is discussion on anything I’ve written.
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