Aug 17 2005
The other side of the story.
Maureen Dowd made a fairly interesting statement. Speaking of Cindy Sheehan, she said that parents who bury their children have Absolute Moral Authority.
I took her meaning as another lefty trying to make Cindy unimpeachable. Indeed, Air America, Michael Moore and the Huffington Post are full of gushing praises and defenders. "How dare you attack her, she is a national hero" said one Slate commenter.
But I think they all miss the point that Dowd made. She needs no defense, she has Absolute Moral Authority because she buried her child, killed in war. So keeping in mind that the left insists she has Absolute Moral Authority, I have a question. Do the other parents who buried their children have the same level of authority?
And if they should ask to be heard in response, would the left give them equal courtesy? And funny, but what should I notice not too long after I made that observation, but this:
http://www.moveamericaforward.org "Move America Forward is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization committed to supporting America’s efforts to defeat terrorism and supporting the brave men and women of our Armed Forces." says the website about itself.
Now I doubt the non-partisan aspects of it, the Board has some prominent conservatives, but actually that isn’t relevant. Is someone going to suddenly claim Moveon.org is non partisan? Please…so to hear the right has an advocate group in this was expected.
What I found interesting was this. The group is organizing a rally/cross country tour called "You Don’t Speak for Me, Cindy." The purpose of it is to take groups of military families to Texas to confront the protest Cirque du Cindy Sheehan and present the other side of the story.
"The overwhelming majority of military families support their loved ones and the missions they are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. These military families do not share Cindy Sheehan’s view of the war on terrorism, and the true story needs to be told.We invite Americans to join us en masse in Crawford, Texas on August 27 so we can send a message to terrorists around the world that American resolve is stronger than ever," says the press release.
And it raises a good point, that the protests have a larger effect, that emboldenbolden the terrorists because they see it as proof our resolve is fading.
I applaud the group for heading to Crawford and confronting this, because it is important that people realize that there is another side to her protest.
That side needs a voice too. And since they too have Absolute Moral Authority then there will be no one on the left who should oppose their right to join in the protest.
