Sheehan is very American
The following was originally posted on the legal redux:
Cindy Sheehan, who has made national news by literally setting up camp in Crawford, Texas to protest the war in Iraq, has packed up to be at the side of an ailing parent. After arriving in memory of her son, she leaves for her mother 74 year-old mother, who just suffered a stroke. Now is as good a time as any to reflect on the lessons of the Sheehan saga, and the continuing protest vigil that permeates the exempt news.
Some have called the Sheehan protests “unamerican.” Sheehan was arguing against the troops, demoralizing the military and publicly attacking the Commander in Chief. These actions are a strike against what it means to be American and hit close to the heart of everyone in the
What Sheehan has done at
Consider the plight of Arthur Z'ahidi Ngoma, a former Congolese rebel who started the “Congolese Union for Peace.” Arthur’s voice would never have been heard and the media would never have reported his opposition were it not for the violent nature of his objections. Censorship means that to be heard one must take drastic actions.
This “American” coin has a flip side. The DailyKos has a piece deriding “[conservatives’] unamerican disdain for [Sheehan’s] right to protest her son's death.” If Cindy Sheehan has a right to criticize the President, it can hardly be called “unamerican” to contradict Sheehan’s argument or say that she is wrong. Most of the unamerican accusations surrounding
Ironically, while Sheehan protests what her son fought for, she exercises rights that her son died for.
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