Tuesday, September 27, 2005

A serious question

I am treading on thin ice here, but there is a question I want to ask.

The question involves Cindy Sheehan. I wholeheartedly supported her quest for the answer to the question of why her son died. I am a parent, I hope I never have to face that pain and I don't dare to question how any parent deals with that grief. I also agree that this war is a misbegotten disaster that kills for nothing. My only concern, though, is that she is moving from a grieving mother with a powerful message to the celebrity protester du jour and will forfeit her credibility with every interview and photo op. Thoughts?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Her credibility is essentially unchanged, in my opinion, since her son is still dead. But her effectiveness as the portrait of a grieving mother has got to be comprimised. She no longer seems to be the little guy fighting to be heard, she's become the apple of the media's eye.

That ear to ear smile she had when she was being dragged away did not bring to mind a sad angry mother, but a politically saavy opportunist. She's learning the ropes, and can't hide the delight she feels about the success of her tactics.

I'm glad she is feeling delighted, and I'm relieved that she can't hide her delight - that seems an honest reaction from the mother of a dead soldier who personally dragged the commander and chief through the mud in front of the whole world. While he was on vacation. But her power came from her sadness, and that's what the pictures need to portray if she wants to capture hearts and minds.