Thursday, August 18, 2005
"Protesting mother dishonors soldiers"
I feel compelled ro respond to John Reed's letter, "protesting mother dishonors soldiers". I thought I had heard the epitome of outrageous statements when I learned that right wing ranter, Rush Limbough suggested that Cindy Sheehan was being "handled" by liberal factions in her protests to the president about why her son had to die in Iraq. Mr. Reed describes Mrs. Sheehan grieve stricken comments as "rantings". Well John, you ain't heard nothing yet. I realize that there those who tend to blame the president for everything, but let us be aware that there are those who blame the president for nothing. That aside, and
all political rhetoric taken into consideration, for anyone to take shots at a tormented mother who has lost her son in a war she feels was needless and unjustifiable is reprehensible to say the least. Those of us who protest the war do not place blame on the soldiers sent to fight it .They have no choice in where they are sent, but when it turns out that they are ill-equiped and undermanned to perform their duties with a minimum of losses, it behooves the citizens of this country to speak out. No president of either party has a mandate to play Russian roulette with our military and he is solely responsible for seeing that they do not become pawns in political tugs of war for whatever reasons. Regardless of where we stand on the issue of how the war is being managed, attacking those who have lost a loved one and accusing them of 'being handled' by left leaning liberals is yet another example of how this war has diminished our capacity to comfort the pain stricken and
increased our willingness to strike out against those of us who question the motives of the people we endowed with the power to lead. During the Vietnam war there were people in this country who thought we should 'nuke' the enemy,
because we could'nt defeat them on the ground. I hope there are'nt remnants of that mentality still among us.
There have always been people who protested wars, not the least of whom were those who lost someone in battle. They have earned the right to express their anger and lament their
loss. Let them do so in peace.
George Morin
Auburn, Ga.
all political rhetoric taken into consideration, for anyone to take shots at a tormented mother who has lost her son in a war she feels was needless and unjustifiable is reprehensible to say the least. Those of us who protest the war do not place blame on the soldiers sent to fight it .They have no choice in where they are sent, but when it turns out that they are ill-equiped and undermanned to perform their duties with a minimum of losses, it behooves the citizens of this country to speak out. No president of either party has a mandate to play Russian roulette with our military and he is solely responsible for seeing that they do not become pawns in political tugs of war for whatever reasons. Regardless of where we stand on the issue of how the war is being managed, attacking those who have lost a loved one and accusing them of 'being handled' by left leaning liberals is yet another example of how this war has diminished our capacity to comfort the pain stricken and
increased our willingness to strike out against those of us who question the motives of the people we endowed with the power to lead. During the Vietnam war there were people in this country who thought we should 'nuke' the enemy,
because we could'nt defeat them on the ground. I hope there are'nt remnants of that mentality still among us.
There have always been people who protested wars, not the least of whom were those who lost someone in battle. They have earned the right to express their anger and lament their
loss. Let them do so in peace.
George Morin
Auburn, Ga.
