Ephemeral Sunshine of the Thoughtless Whine

by Greg Strange

Would it be unseemly or offensive to suggest that fallen soldier Casey Sheehan might be rolling over in his grave right now because of the recent actions and statements of his mother Cindy who has appeared to be in the throes of a media-driven, narcissistic rampage of Bush Derangement Syndrome? If so, then sorry, you don’t have my apologies because the woman has simply gone off the deep end with her radical ranting which is itself offensive to millions of Americans.

Here’s just a cursory sampling of the odious and downright loony things that have emanated from the mouth of this confused woman:

“They’re not waging a war on terror, but a war of terror. The biggest terrorist is George W. Bush.”

“The only reason Bush wants to stay there is because his buddies are getting rich and feasting off the blood of our children.”

“You tell me my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana.”

“America has been killing people on this continent since it was started. This country is not worth dying for.”

“We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country . . . will be contaminated for practically eternity now.”

“We have to impeach George Bush down to the person who picks up the dog sh_t in Washington! Let George Bush send his two little party animals to die in Iraq.”

And on and on. You get the drift. Of course, the mainstream media, who were loath to be stuck once again during August in a hot, dusty, backward place like Crawford, Texas, were hanging on Cindy’s every word and portraying her as the sympathetic and morally righteous mother of a soldier killed in a questionable war rather than as a Noam Chomsky-style America-hating radical. But it all came out from other sources and it wasn’t exactly indicative of a spotless mind.

Nonetheless, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd -- whom writer Catherine Seipp once described as “probably the ditziest Pulitzer Prize winner ever” -- wrote on the subject that “the moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute.”

Wait a minute. Whoa! Hold everything, stop the presses! What’s this about an absolute moral authority? Since when? One of the sparkling jewels in the crown of liberalism is that there are no moral absolutes, but that when it comes to morality, everything is relative. It’s one of the main justifications for legal abortion which, instead of simply being pre-parturitionary infanticide, is rather a choice that a woman makes and has only whatever moral significance she cares to give it, which may be none at all.

This “moral authority” line was no doubt typed in one of Dowd’s more non-cutesy, grave and ponderous moments, but it’s as disingenuous as anything she has ever written--and not only for the reason just stated. It’s also because we all understand that in Dowdworld, the only parents whose moral authority is absolute are those who have the same point of view on the war as Dowd herself. We know this because she ain’t writing columns highlighting the absoluteness of the moral authority of pro-war parents who have lost their children.

Look, it’s perfectly obvious that the emotionally distraught Cindy Sheehan has been hijacked by the Michael Moore left with the aim of making her the poster child of a ginned-up, desperately hoped-for antiwar movement a la Viet Nam and that more moderate antiwar types are at least sympathetic with her. But despite the fact that, according to the latest polls, Americans’ enthusiasm for the war in Iraq has grown considerably more tepid than it once was, that doesn’t mean they agree with the ravings of Cindy and her new disciples.

So don’t look for a return to the days when the undisciplined minions of a youthful counterculture ran amok in the streets, indiscriminately consuming mind-altering substances, clashing with the “pigs” and trashing everything their parents ever believed in or fought for. Times have changed, the armed forces are all-volunteer and it’s going to be a lot harder to get college-age kids these days to riot in the streets and burn their draft cards when there is no draft that’s going to put them in harm’s way and they don’t have any draft cards to burn.

Be that as it may, to question or criticize the “moral authority” and the supposed wisdom of Cindy is near unbearable to some of those who hang on her every Bush-hating word. For instance, get a load of the rantings of this outraged blogger on DailyKos.com who just couldn’t bear the actions of a couple of counter-demonstrators at Camp Casey who carried posters that had pictures of Casey with slogans on them that could be construed as pro-Iraq war:

“I really thought no one could stoop so low as to using the pictures of a dead soldier AGAINST his own MOTHER! No shame, no decency, no empathy -- just sheer heartlessness. I’m not normally a violent woman, but when I saw this I wanted to hurt someone -- after I nearly vomited.

“You may want a trash can handy as the need to throw up is not uncommon when you actually see what is printed on the signs. Just posting the pictures makes me feel like I need to take a shower . . . These people are utterly despicable.”

Okay, get those trash cans and showers ready because here’s what the signs said: “SPC Casey Sheehan a fallen hero remembered” and “Freedom isn’t free.” Revolting, isn’t it? When you’re finished heaving, you best go hit the shower.

When it comes to Cindy Sheehan, here‘s the question that people should be asking: Whose moral authority should be given more weight, that of the grief-stricken mother who proclaimed “this country is not worth dying for” or that of her grown son who willingly put his life on the line by volunteering his service to the country that he presumably loved?” I’m betting most Americans will go with the son since most of them dwell somewhere near the sensible center, far from the madding crowd of Moore, Maureen et al.

Casey Sheehan voluntarily reenlisted in the army at the age of 24 while the war in Iraq was ongoing. If he had believed all his mother’s vituperations against Bush, the war and America in general, it’s impossible to believe he would have reenlisted. But he did reenlist. Therefore, he couldn’t possibly have agreed with the things his mother has been saying. Therefore, it is only logical he would be displeased with her recent statements and actions. And thus, my use of the expression “rolling over in his grave.”

When Cindy Sheehan got up on her political soapbox and started throwing around crazy, offensive talk that would make our Islamo-fascist enemies swoon with delight, her moral authority evaporated faster than the morning dew on an August day in Crawford, Texas. If pointing that out is more than some hysterical Cindy groupies can bear, you know what they say about the “heat” and the “kitchen.”

Cindy recently left Camp Casey to be with her sick mother so it’s quite possible that her day in the sun is over. Indications are that most Americans have heard enough and understand that most of her thoughtless whines aren’t emanating from a spotless mind.

Greg Strange