cindy sheehan in her own words

We Have the Power
By Cindy Sheehan

My day started way too early today. After 3 hours of sleep, I was being shaken awake by someone at 6:30 a.m. telling me that the Today show wanted me to be on. I had come into town to sleep in a trailer because my tent had been infested with fire ants.

We had a very interesting day. We had Bush drive by really, really fast twice. I caught a glimpse of Laura. I was hoping after she saw me that she would come down to Camp Casey with some brownies and lemonade. I waited for her, but she never came.

The Bushes were going to a barbeque/fundraiser down the road from us. I was very surprised that they let us stay so close to Bush. The families of the fallen loved ones held their son's crosses from Arlington West while Bush drove by. I bet it didn't even give him indigestion to see so many people protesting his murderous policies.

I am a continued thorn in the side of right-wing bloggers and right wing-nut "journalists." One man, Phil Hendry, called me an "ignorant cow." But you know what, the people who have come out from all over the country to give me a hug and support the cause of peace, overwhelms me so much, I don't have time to worry about the negativity and the hatred. The people who are slamming me have no idea about what it feels like to unjustly have a child killed in an insane war. Plus, they have no truth to fight truth with, so they fight truth with more lies and hate.

Three active duty soldiers from Ft. Hood came to visit me and tell me that they really appreciated what I was doing and that if they were killed in the war, their moms would be doing the same thing. That made me feel so good after all of the negativity I had been hearing from the righties. I also got to hold a couple of toddlers on my lap while their mom or dad took pictures of us. I am honored that people have resonated with the action that I took to make our mission of ending the war a reality.

We are here at the Crawford Peace House now. I came here so angry and I have been so encouraged and overwhelmed by the support from all over. I was thinking that there is no reason for us progressive liberals to be angry anymore. We have the power. One mom has shown that ordinary citizens can make a difference. We the people have to hold George Bush accountable. We have to make sure he answers to us. If he doesn't have to answer to Congress, or the media, we will force him to answer to us.
From HuffingtonPost via Common Dreams.

Comments

  1. Crabbi14 August 2005 at 10:46

    Plus, they have no truth to fight truth with, so they fight truth with more lies and hate.

    That says it all, doesn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. laura k14 August 2005 at 11:25

    Truly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous14 August 2005 at 18:15

    It's good to see that heroes still do exist in the world.

    Although I wonder the impact it will actually have.

    Because you know, somewhere, someone, is developing a Cindy Sheehan bobblehead doll. I fear that as soon as she is turned into capital via marketing (this will happen, always does - a downside of Capitalism), all power of her message will be lost. (I know, this is cynical, but the Marketing Machine lost this kid years ago.)

    I sure hope that if the mass likeness marketing does happen, it can be used to reinforce, rather than make a joke of, her important (and timely) resistance.

    ReplyDelete
  4. laura k14 August 2005 at 18:25

    Of course heroes exist. They are among us daily. You may be one yourself.

    As far as marketing and bobbleheads, that's not something we need to worry about for now. We have to focus on building the peace movement. If others use it to cynical aims, that can't deter us from the cause.

    Hey, you believed in Live 8, and there was plenty of marketing and message-dilution going on there - but it didn't detract from its importance.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous15 August 2005 at 05:56

    True ... you have a point there. There is hope, don't get me wrong ... it's just disheartening how cold an administration can be sometimes towards its own people. Sigh ...

    BTW,

    I hear the Geldof bobblehead will come with its own microphone and a recording of I Hate Mondays played upon the push of a button.

    ReplyDelete
  6. laura k15 August 2005 at 09:17

    I know exactly where you're coming from, because I struggle with cynicism all the time, see-sawing between hope and despair. I find myself (inside - not aloud) countering whichever is there. If someone is hopeful, I feel cynical - when you are cynical, I can muster hope. Seeking some kind of balance? I don't know.

    I hear the Geldof bobblehead will come with its own microphone and a recording of I Hate Mondays played upon the push of a button.

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  7. James Redekop16 August 2005 at 07:02

    I know exactly where you're coming from, because I struggle with cynicism all the time, see-sawing between hope and despair.

    I find that a bit of cynicism is very helpful. Untempered optimism is brittle; it may stand up to a few strikes from hard reality, but eventually it will crack and shatter. Cynicism give hope the flexibility to bend under the weight of reality and spring back to its original shape.

    Regular doses of Beckett, Leonard Cohen, and Monty Python are very helpful in this. Here's one of my favourite Cohen songs now:

    It's coming through a hole in the air,
    from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
    It's coming from the feel
    that this ain't exactly real,
    or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
    From the wars against disorder,
    from the sirens night and day,
    from the fires of the homeless,
    from the ashes of the gay:
    Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

    It's coming through a crack in the wall;
    on a visionary flood of alcohol;
    from the staggering account
    of the Sermon on the Mount
    which I don't pretend to understand at all.
    It's coming from the silence
    on the dock of the bay,
    from the brave, the bold, the battered
    heart of Chevrolet:
    Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

    It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
    the holy places where the races meet;
    from the homicidal bitchin'
    that goes down in every kitchen
    to determine who will serve and who will eat.
    From the wells of disappointment
    where the women kneel to pray
    for the grace of God in the desert here
    and the desert far away:
    Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

    Sail on, sail on
    O mighty Ship of State!
    To the Shores of Need
    Past the Reefs of Greed
    Through the Squalls of Hate
    Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

    It's coming to America first,
    the cradle of the best and of the worst.
    It's here they got the range
    and the machinery for change
    and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
    It's here the family's broken
    and it's here the lonely say
    that the heart has got to open
    in a fundamental way:
    Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

    It's coming from the women and the men.
    O baby, we'll be making love again.
    We'll be going down so deep
    the river's going to weep,
    and the mountain's going to shout Amen!
    It's coming like the tidal flood
    beneath the lunar sway,
    imperial, mysterious,
    in amorous array:
    Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

    Sail on, sail on ...

    I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
    I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
    And I'm neither left or right
    I'm just staying home tonight,
    getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
    But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
    that Time cannot decay,
    I'm junk but I'm still holding up
    this little wild bouquet:
    Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

    ReplyDelete
  8. laura k16 August 2005 at 16:59

    Excellent, James - thank you.

    A pinch of cynicism is healthy and necessary. But too much cynicism leads to apathy. And apathy is what the powers that be thrive on.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

sharia

This morning I see that Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario, is banning the Muslim religious court known as sharia . This ends months of debate about whether sharia would be legal and binding in Ontario. I'm quoting at length from the story in today's Toronto Star because many US readers are likely not up on this. In a surprise announcement that caught both supporters and opponents of sharia law off guard, Premier Dalton McGuinty says he will move quickly to ban all religious arbitration in the province. McGuinty made the announcement in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press yesterday after months of debate and controversy surrounding use of Islamic sharia law in family arbitration. "I've come to the conclusion that the debate has gone on long enough," the premier told the news agency. "There will be no sharia law in Ontario. There will be no religious arbitration in Ontario. There will be one law for all Ontarians." The announcement prompted t...
Read more

can of worms

I'm opening a sticky subject here, my need to understand causing me to throw caution to the wind. It's about Alberta. Alberta vs. the rest of the Canada. The Globe And Mail runs something about Alberta's gripes every day, and I try to follow along. If it weren't for wmtc's resident Albertan , and the ensuing arguments in comments, I would've had no warning. It's not something Americans know about. As is, observing for more than a year, I have only the smallest of clues. Here's what I know. Please pardon my ignorance and oversimplification, but I have to start somewhere. The province of Alberta is rich, because it has oil. The province of Alberta is conservative, relative to the rest of Canada. Hmm. Funny how those two go together. Because of its great oil wealth, Alberta revenue helps fund services in the rest of Canada. (These are transfer payments?) Apparently many Albertans resent this. They want to keep Alberta's money in Alberta. They don't...
Read more

low confidence

I'm excited about today's no-confidence vote . Only three months after moving here, we'll get to see a government fall, a campaign, and an election, in a system very different from what we're accustomed to. Even the expression "the government will fall" strikes us as oddly dramatic and revolutionary. My sense of current Canadian politics, for what it's worth, tells me that very little will change from the upcoming election. I'd be surprised if the Liberals didn't win. So it's kind of cool to see this happening without a lot at stake. On a semi-tangential note, have I mentioned I'm completely down with "Corner Gas"? Excellent show; I love the deadpan humour. (Great website, too; check it out .) So was that really Finance Minister Ralph Goodale ragging on Brent Butt's camera last Saturday night?
Read more