Cindy Sheehan's Last Stand

Lauded by the left and loathed by the right, Cindy Sheehan has decided to pack her bags and go home, ending a nearly three-year long protest to end the Iraq war. In the wake of the Iraq funding battle in which the Democrats decided to give the President money for the war, Sheehan, frustrated, gave up and headed home.

I had always found myself defending Cindy Sheehan, even as I shook my head in disbelief at her actions sometimes. Every time I'd consider turning my back on her, I was reminded of my mother, who once told me she wouldn't know how she'd respond if I joined the military and died in Iraq and it's very likely she might stand next to Cindy at Camp Casey. I am, after all, her only son and only child. I cut Cindy some slack, as a mother who lost her son in a war she opposed and kept quiet, even after her son died until she couldn't take it anymore. She exemplified what's so great about America; a patriot, standing up for what she believed in, even in the face of strong opposition to her actions, to the point where she sacrificed everything in her life to go toe to toe with the Leader of the Free World.

Still, there was a line she sometimes crossed where she hurt the anti-war movement more than helped it.

I cringed when she stood side by side with Hugo Chavez. My mouth fell to the floor when she called Bush "worse than Osama Bin Laden," even shouting obscenities at her when she said she'd rather live in Chavez's Venezuela than in the United States. Bush may not be the nicest person in the world. He may be selfish and stubborn, and he may very well border on being a war criminal, but he certainly isn't worse than Bin Laden, and as far as wanting to live in Venezuela, then move there. The rest of us are here fighting Bush to change the country we WANT to live in. It may not be ideal right now, but that's why we fight, to make it that way.

There isn't much else Cindy can do to end this war. She gave up so much, for which she can be considered both brave and stupid if you ask me. She made her mark. She spoke for those too scared of being labeled traitors and was willing to give up her reputation and have her name smeared for what she believed. She helped bring out the truth, even despite those flaws I mentioned above. She is merely a middle-class mother from Northern California who was willing to take on the President of the United States no matter what was to happen to her. For that, I will give her some respect.

I'm not necessarily glad to see her go, but at this point, the anti-war movement will go on without her. She both helped and hurt and perhaps it is time for her to move on with her life.