Cindy Sheehan and the importance of staying on message

[Keseys Ghost]

I've been waiting a long time to get my thoughts together on this so that I speak from my heart and not my head.

Last summer, when we went to Texas, I was certain that the simple message, "For what noble cause?", would resound in the American soul. We knew Cindy was going to Crawford before she got there and I believed that it would rouse the nation, if not the world. We discussed the possibilities weeks beforehand in our kitchen, and we knew it would be a righteous stand.

I went to Crawford. I took my daughter, my wife, and the family cat. I lived in a tent, brushed my teeth on a Texas highway, went days without a shower, put my law practice on hold, met the day on many days without coffee, hung out for days on end with cops, had my name drug through the dirt, held the triangle and held it well, and sacrificed much to get that simple message out: "For what noble cause?"

Hurricane Katrina hit our home and any influence we may have had was negated. We lost our contacts and other influences, which had already begun to dominate, took control.

Now, Outlook Express is jammed with spam from oil companies featuring photos of Ms. Sheehan with an alleged South American dictator, diluting, if not erasing, the legacy of Camp Casey. No one asks about that "noble cause" anymore. Her critics reference Castro and accuse her of being a lacky for the left. The message of Casey's needless death is lost in the debate due to the unnecessary expansion of the issues.

Why did Casey have to die, George? Plain and simple.

We must stay on message. Keep it simple.

Why are we at war?

For what noble cause did all of these innocents die?

Stay on message.

They seem to do it better than we do.

[femmocrat]

1. That is such a shame!

I'm not sure what the point is... but some perceived that she was being "used." Sadly, don't know if she can regain the impact of those early days at Camp Casey. Of course the wing-nuts distorted her image and message. That is what they do best!

[Keseys Ghost]

2. Please allow me to clarify:

The point always was: why are we sending our children to die in Iraq? Why are we killing children in Iraq?

It was never about politics, per se. It was about needless pain and suffering.

THAT was the Camp Casey I served. THAT was the message I sent.

It was simple and to the point.

Maybe she was "used"; I don't know.

But, when was the last time you heard"For what noble cause?"?

[Webster Green]

3. Her message seems pretty clear to me...

The fact that she is under attack from the fascist is not surprising. They always attack the messengers of truth.

Chavez is not a dictator, BTW.

[Keseys Ghost]

4. I believe I said "alleged" regarding that guy

But, dilute the message if you will.

[Webster Green]

8. WTF!?

Yeah, alleged by right wing assholes.

Why would you repeat their propaganda?

The fact that Cindy is being attacked, and her message distorted by the fascists, means that she is succeeding.

Sheesh!

[Keseys Ghost]

6. BTW, where you there?

Just wondering.

[Webster Green]

9. I assume you are referring to Crawford, last summer?

No, not physically, but very much in spirit. I would have been there if I could have figured out how to put everything on hold, and still have a place to live when I got back.

Why?...does that preclude me from commenting on Cindy's mission? Is their some kind of elitist clique that I need to be a part of?

[Acebass]

5. having been there from the start I agree...

we all agreed it wasn't about Cindy but about Casey, and all the Troops sacraficed to this dictator...
It seems to have gotten lost somewhere...

[noamnety]

7. There's a march to Crawford in April

Please join us from April 1 to 14, 2006 for the March to Redeem the Soul of America�, inspired by the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, a march that will lift up the Iraq War, official misconduct and oil profiteering for consideration and redemption by the American people and people around the world.

The march, which will start in Irving, Texas will carry the message of immediate withdrawal from Iraq reinforced by the ExxonMobil War Boycott directly into the heartland of Texas Oil Country and precisely to the Bush ranch in Crawford.

The purpose is to educate and to call on Texans and all Americans to examine their views on the war, its relationship to the American economy and to America's future, particularly with respect to oil.

The touchstone of the march will be the teachings and work of Dr. and Ms. King.

Cindy Sheehan will join us on this march and at the extended events planned for the Third Anniversary of the Crawford Peace House on Easter Weekend, April 14 - 16. Join us on Good Friday as we march from the Crawford Peace House to Camp Casey.

Cindy lost her son Casey on April 4, 2004 to this immoral war, invested with lies and spent with blood for oil. Casey was returned home on Palm Sunday. He endures in his mother's loving struggle for peace.

http://marchtoredeem.org/content/view/12/1/

[Armstead]

10. Marttin Luther King got off message too

We tend to forget that leaders are people too. Cindy Sheehan has obviously broadened her interests. And perhaps she made some poor choices in a public relations sense. However, I don't think she can be faulted for expanding her scope to the underlying causes for the war.

ML King made his name as a leader in the ciil rights movement around a very simple premise. Blacks deserved the sme rights and opportunities as Whites.

But in his last years he also came out against the Vietnam War, and he also became increasingly for non-racial economic issues and against Corporate Power.

He was criticized for that too. It was said he ws diluting the message of civil rights and distracting attention and becoming too radical.

His basic response was that he hd come to realize that the oppresion of Blacks did not eist in a vacuum. The only way that they would be able to advance was if society s a whole became more equitable. And that Blaks were among the major victims of the War and the draft.