Musafir's Musings

There is nothing new about mothers questioning authority about wrongful deaths of their children. They demonstrated in Argentina, they marched in Israel, they protested in Northern Ireland. Now, here in America more and more parents and family members of dead soldiers are raising their voices. They are doing it because they feel driven by the need for answers. Platitudes from on high no longer suffice.

Mrs. Sheehan is not alone. All of them are not standing at her side in Crawford,TX, but there are hundreds of women who support what she is doing. Some remain silent. Do they continue to believe that their loved ones died for a just cause or are there other reasons that prevent them from speaking out?

This is one instance when the media has brought the spotlight on an issue that needed it. Bloggers too have played a major role in keeping Cindy Sheehan's campaign alive. Yes, there are detractors and Mrs. Sheehan is not going to achieve her objective of another face-to-face meeting with the president---the ground rules have changed and the settings are different than when she met him in the White House as part of a group.

Nevertheless, what she has accomplished is nothing to be sneered at. She has made others rethink their position about Iraq. Cindy Sheehan and other mothers of dead soldiers in Iraq are part of a tradition. Whether you support them or not, they do not deserve disparagement.

Why mothers push for peace BBC Aug.13, 2005
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Six more soldiers died in Iraq. The total: 1853
Source: Iraq Coalition Casualties

"Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again"
---Cat Stevens, Peace Train