Common Ground
Some folks feel protesting is wrong, that you should mind your own business. But when the biggest earth mover in the world shows up at your gate, you suddenly realize that industry regulation is your business. ~ Author and poet George Ella Lyons, talking about strip mining in coal fields of Kentucky.
If a family member was perpetrating domestic violence, I hope I would confront him, seek help, and maybe even call the police or 911, if necessary. I wouldn’t expect to be labeled anti-family for doing so. I wouldn’t expect my actions to be perceived as disloyalty towards the perpetrator, and especially not towards other family members.
Abuse of power thrives in silence and silence is often obtained through fear. Name calling is one of the easiest ways to instill fear and stifle dissent. It can temporarily stop debate – debate that might be uncomfortable, but could also lead to understanding and change. But it doesn’t stop problems. In fact, without a constructive forum for dissent, resentments go underground, where they are fueled and can cause existing problems to be magnified.
Our country was founded on protest and revolt against governmental abuse of power. Yet, today when Americans protest controversial government policies, they are frequently labeled as un-American or unpatriotic. In an April, 2003 commentary, “Rediscovering Patriotism,” published by The Roanoke Times and commondreams.org, I wrote: I believe a patriot is one that is an active and informed participant of his or her government, one who is passionate about upholding the ideals its country stands for, not just in word but in deed. This could mean going to war to defend your country, but it also could mean guarding against the overstepping of your country, such as when it initiates offensive wars against weaker nations.
Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who is camped out near President Bush’s Texas ranch, is demanding that the President answer her questions. She has become the unlikely lightening rod for so many who have grave concerns about the war in Iraq and believe it to be an elective war of aggression that was misrepresented to the public and then rushed into without proper post war planning. While Sheehan’s vigil is supported by many, others are angry and trying to discredit her.
I have no doubt that Cindy cares deeply about the troops in Iraq and all the lives that have been lost there. I believe her actions are a result of following her conscience. If there is any common ground between her supporters and detractors, I think it lies somewhere in the likelihood that the majority on both sides of the issue come from a place of caring about others. They just express it in different ways.
I’m amazed and encouraged that one ordinary woman has a better chance of holding President Bush accountable for the war in Iraq than the nearly half a million protesters who marched on Washington D.C. in 2003 in an attempt to stop a war they believed didn’t have to happen.
August 18th, 2005 9:58 am
Me too, Colleen. I think she is a true hero.
Michele sent me, but you know I’m here everyday.
August 18th, 2005 10:26 am
Thanks for playing the Michele game. I’m finding so many fascinating blogs.
Your thoughts on Cindy Sheehan are so much more powerful than most of the drivel spouted by people with axes to grind on both sides of the issue. I agree with her and you. I haven’t followed all the personal muckraking about her because that doesn’t seem relevant, but it is typical of the modus operandi of her opposition.
August 18th, 2005 12:02 pm
You are so right. Unfortunately though I think a lot of Cindy’s detractors just feel their position of power is being threatened (or their “side’s” power) but some probably are doing it out of a deep concern for the well being of our president.
I also wanted to let you know that tomorrow morning’s post will answer your question – why Lam(b).
August 18th, 2005 12:48 pm
Colleen, it has been a while since I checked in and you hit a real chord with this little post. I personally don’t agree with Cindy’s position, but I do most definitely agree with the form of protest that she has taken. I think that people with real issues need to protest with her in mind. A little well positioned protestation is part of the wonderful process we call democracy. I disagree with her, but I applaud her heartfelt protests.
August 18th, 2005 1:21 pm
well said colleen…it only takes a spark to get a fire started…
go cindy! 🙂
August 18th, 2005 1:28 pm
As Colleen must know, I agree 100% with the ideas she has presented here. Good job Col! I’ve been writing about Cindy myself beginning with this entry on August 7th: http://ben-gal.tripod.com/index.blog?entry_id=1185662 at A Particularly Persistent Point of View and followed by others.
If anyone is interested in Cindy Sheehan’s day-to-day activites, here’s her update blog:
http://crawfordupdate.blogspot.com
August 18th, 2005 4:30 pm
Amazing story!
August 18th, 2005 6:33 pm
Remember our founding fathers were considered un-patriotic at the time. The timing of her protest may in fact make people much more able to hear her then the were able to hear the protests that may have prevented the death of her son and so manty more. I think that at that time so many people wanted to believe in their goverment and elected officials that it made them blind to the reality of the situation.
August 18th, 2005 8:13 pm
I like Lora’s comment and agree with it!!
August 18th, 2005 10:11 pm
As the wife of a soldier who was there, I am personally saddened by her actions. I understand that she disagrees, but she is disagreeing in the name of her son, her son who volunteered to serve, offered to go, and argued against her plan to take him to Canada to escape his enlistment.
She has the right to protest, most certainly.
But I wholeheartedly disagree with her using her son’s name or status in any of this. I would never speak in opposition of what my husband chose to risk his life over. It would be like me giving my life for my husband and/or children and having my own mother screaming at them that they killed me. It’s just not right in my opinion – but it is her choice.
I wish she would have found alternate fuel for her fire, personally. This whole thing just makes me very very sad for her son.
August 19th, 2005 2:50 am
Half a million protesters are half a million mostly anonymous faces. Sheehan puts a face on what has in many ways become abstract, a euphemism, and therefore a smokescreen. Good post.
August 20th, 2005 9:52 am
You put words together so well…especially on this subject. Have you tried bumper stickers? I keep looking for something that truly says this to put on my car!!!!
August 20th, 2005 9:54 am
You write this so well. Have you ever thought of bumper stickers? Really. I keep looking for something that says this in an intelligent and succinct way!