Across centuries, wise people have said our grief often leads to anger and blaming.

They've warned us to be careful of people who, proclaiming sympathetic friendship, want only to use our grief for their purposes.

I hope God will grant solace to Cindy Sheehan and all who mourn.

And I hope she and her new friends, all so eager for media moments, will understand that I want to leave them where they are and move on.

John
www.johnincarolina.com

It seems brutally honest to me that the left does not care about Ms. Sheehan the person. They just care about the political power that she can provide.

Just another resource.

Sad!

I have to agree with Mustang. Should she take a turn somewhere down the road, or her message fall flat, she'll find out the real motivations of her fair weather (underground) friends.

See how they are solely concerned with how the package and market her anti-war message at the Kos threads linked above by Greyhawk.

Cindy Sheehan -- the Norma McCorvey (aka "Roe" in Roe vs. Wade of the anti-war movement.

Just like Norma was, Ms. Sheehan is being used by those who would ignore her otherwise.

Of course, that's what you should expect from those who consider principle and morality as stretchable as Silly Putty.

What irritates me to no end is the whole premise of complaining about war. If everybody is so against fighting in wars and dying, DON’T JOIN!!! I was in the Army for three years, was in two combat zones, including the Former Yugoslavia, and I understood that if I died, I signed the line. Don’t get me wrong, it’s sad when any soldier dies, and I’ll mourn their death, but you know the job when you join the military. If I was to die when I was deployed, my parents wouldn’t have run to the president to criticize because they knew I joined of my own free will. That’s what’s great about America. Freedom of choice.

Sheehan should not get a pass because she is grieving. Lots of people grieve without turning over their soul to political action committees. Instead we should ask what credentials she claims gives her special insight to her issues. A dead son is not a special credential. Again, lots of folks have dead relatives. I see nothing in Ms. Sheehan’s life experience or education or intelligence that makes her opinion any more worth of my consideration than the guy who packed my groceries this morning at the Piggily Wiggily.

To the families of our brave servicemen and women.

Your sons,daughters, fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives have chosen to serve this country in a difficult and dangerous job during a period of danger to this country. I salute them for their willingness to serve and for the gallant way they are performing in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I have an idea of what they are facing. I chose to serve in the Navy and flew in combat in Vietnam. I lost several friends and squadronmates during that war. Some might say that war was a lost cause. I disagree. In my opinion it was a noble effort that was short circuited by a brilliant propaganda effort, which sapped the public's backing for the war.

You, their families and loved ones, are also serving our country. It is a difficult thing to know your loved one is in danger. It is even more difficult to learn that your loved one has been wounded or killed in action.
If, in your opinion, this war is illegal or unnecessary it makes it just that much more difficult to accept.

I am a surviving parent. My son was killed in a mountain climbing accident when he was twenty. He was an expert climber and very safety conscious. However, that did not save him. To lose a child is the most devastating life experience a parent can have. My son died 26 years ago, but I miss him terribly, even today.

Although many might say that climbing mountains is a useless, unnecessary activity, it gave my son much pleasure. He chose to be where he was and it is some measure of comfort to me to know that. May it be some comfort to you to know your loved one volunteered to be in the military. Unfortunately, the military is a very necessary thing when we remember these words: "Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

There is nothing I can say or do that can assuage the pain of the death of a loved one. From the perspective of a surviving parent I can offer you some counsel that I hope may be of some help in dealing with the awful pain of your loss.

1. Your grief is normal. You may think you are going crazy or that you yourself are dying. The pain, sadness, anger, and feelings of being hopeless are normal. Try to accept your grief and be with it. Let it run its course. It will take longer, much longer, than you think it should.
2. Gather together your pictures, and all other items that will help preserve your memories of your loved one. You may find it painful to do so at first, but later on you will treasure them.
3. Talk with others about your memories of your loved one. If possible, join a bereavement group where you can listen to others discuss their grief and where they will listen respectfully to you.
4. Try to begin as normal a life as you can when you are ready. Positive activity helps take your mind off your grief and gets you back into life. Try to remember that life is for the living and you have much to giove the world.
5. Know that with time your grief will become manageable. I liken losing a child to losing an arm or leg. You have suffered a great loss, but you can overcome it. You can, in time, go on living a life with happiness and joy, which is what your loved one would want you to do.

I salute you. Being a warrior is tough and dangerous work. But waiting for the warrior to return may be the most difficult job of all. May God bless all of us, each and every one.

David Duke supports Cindy Sheehan.

Her 15 minutes of fame are over.

Now comes the infamy.

It is hard to decide whether to take a compassionate approach to Cindy Sheehan's loss of her son, or to vilify her for the path that she has taken to express the anger that is often a part of the grieving process. In his comments above, Jim prefers to take the first approach, which I have also done with my "Open Letter to Ms. Cindy Sheehan" posted on my blog, "The Drum and Cannon". While many would consider my effort to be extremely naive and a time-waster, I believe that it is the humanitarian approach; and I for one would prefer to be placed in a situation in which I may have to retract my words rather than being equivalent to the type of closed-minded and foul-mouthed cretins with whom she has decided to associate herself.

I see a great contrast between her first comments about her meeting with Bush in her interview on June 24, 2004, that was just several months after her son was killed, and the latest comments she is making about that same meeting with Bush. Cindy Sheehan first said after her meeting with Bush, that she " now knows that Bush is sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqi's." Then she went on to say and I quote, " I know he's sorry and feels pain for our loss." She used two descriptions to describe her impressions of Bush after,Bush's meeting with her, "Sincere" and " He's sorry and feels pain for our loss." Now its quite the opposite description of Bush, if you were to listen to her new interpretation of that same meeting with Bush, you would think it was two seperate meetings. Cindy Sheehan now says about that meeting with Bush that " Every time we tried to talk about Casey and how much we missed him, he would change the subject,and he acted like it was a party." That statement indicates just the opposite of what she originally said about Bush, in that she even used the word "sincere" in describing Bush's demeanor. So I'm to take it that she felt that "acting like it was a party" was sincere, and sincere was as she described Bush in her first interview? The question that now remains concerning her two completely different versions of that meeting with Bush, is, which one is the true story and which one is the lie? In her first interview with David Henson she stated that Bush felt "sorry" about the loss of her son,then Cindy Sheehan turns around and says just the opposite in her interview with Blitzer and I quote " Yes, he came in very jovial, and like we should be happy that he, our son, died." Excuse me but "sorry" and "happy" are not synonyms Mrs.Sheehan. Cindy Sheehan's versions of that meeting with President Bush just don't match, they are not remotely similar.