Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Lei non parla per me.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007122
She Does Not Speak for Me
My son died in Iraq--and it was not in vain.
BY RONALD R. GRIFFIN
Thursday, August 18, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
I lost a son in Iraq and Cindy Sheehan does not speak for me.
I grieve with Mrs. Sheehan, for all too well I know the full measure of 
the agony she is forever going to endure. I honor her son for his 
service and sacrifice. However, I abhor all that she represents and 
those who would cast her as the symbol for parents of our fallen soldiers.
The fallen heroes, until now, have enjoyed virtually no individuality. 
They have been treated as a monolith, a mere number. Now Mrs. Sheehan, 
with adept public relations tactics, has succeeded in elevating herself 
above the rest of us. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida declared that Mrs. 
Sheehan is now the symbol for all parents who have lost children in 
Iraq. Sorry, senator. Not for me.
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times portrays Mrs. Sheehan as a distraught 
mom standing heroically outside the guarded gates of the most powerful 
and inhumane man on earth, President Bush. Ms. Dowd is so moved by Mrs. 
Sheehan's plight that she bestowed upon her and all grieving parents the 
title of "absolute moral authority." That characterization epitomizes 
the arrogance and condescension of anyone who would presume to 
understand and speak for all of us. How can we all possess "absolute 
moral authority" when we hold so many different perspectives?
I don't want that title. I haven't earned that title.
Although we all walk the same sad road of sorrow and agony, we walk it 
as individuals with all the refreshing uniqueness of our own thoughts 
shaped in large measure by the life and death of our own fallen hero. 
Over the past few days I have reached out to other parents and loved 
ones of fallen heroes in an attempt to find out their reactions to all 
the attention Mrs. Sheehan has attracted. What emerges from those 
conversations is an empathy for Mrs. Sheehan's suffering but a 
fundamental disagreement with her politics.
Ann and Dale Hampton lost their only child, Capt. Kimberly Hampton, on 
Jan. 2, 2004, while she was flying her Kiowa helicopter. She was a 
member of the 82nd Airborne and the company commander. She had already 
served in Afghanistan before being deployed to Iraq. Ann Hampton wrote, 
"My grief sometimes seems unbearable, but I cannot add the additional 
baggage of anger. Mrs. Sheehan has every right to protest . . . but I 
cannot do that. I would be protesting the very thing that Kimberly 
believed in and died for."
Marine Capt. Benjamin Sammis was Stacey Sammis's husband. Ben died on 
April 4, 2003, while flying his Super Cobra helicopter. Listen to Stacey 
and she will tell you that she is just beginning to understand the 
enormousness of the character of soldiers who knowingly put their lives 
at risk to defend our country. She will tell you that one of her deepest 
regrets is that the world did not have the honor of experiencing for a 
much longer time this outstanding Marine she so deeply loved.
Speak to Joan Curtin, whose son, Cpl. Michael Curtin, was an infantryman 
with the 2-7th 3rd ID, and her words are passionately ambivalent. She 
says she has no room for bitterness. She has a life to lead and a family 
to nurture. She spoke of that part of her that never heals, for that is 
where Michael resides. She can go on, always knowing there will be that 
pain.
Karen Long is the mother of Spc. Zachariah Long, who died with my son 
Kyle on May 30, 2003. Zack and Kyle were inseparable friends as only 
soldiers can be, and Karen and I have become inseparable friends since 
their deaths. Karen's view is that what Mrs. Sheehan is doing she has 
every right to do, but she is dishonoring all soldiers, including 
Karen's son, Zack. Karen cannot comprehend why Mrs. Sheehan cannot seem 
to come to grips with the idea that her own son, Casey, was a soldier 
like Zack who had a mission to complete. Karen will tell you over and 
over again that Zack is not here and no one, but no one will dishonor 
her son.
My wife, Robin, has a different take on Mrs. Sheehan. She told me, "I 
don't care what she says or does. She is no more important than any 
other mother."
By all accounts Spc. Casey Sheehan, Mrs. Sheehan's son, was a soldier by 
choice and by the strength of his character. I did not have the honor of 
knowing him, but I have read that he attended community college for 
three years and then chose to join the Army. In August 2003, five months 
into Operation Iraqi Freedom and after three years of service, Casey 
Sheehan re-enlisted in the Army with the full knowledge there was a war 
going on, and with the high probability he would be assigned to a combat 
area. Mrs. Sheehan frequently speaks of her son in religious terms, even 
saying that she thought that some day Casey would be a priest. Like so 
many of the individuals who have given their lives in service to our 
country, Casey was a very special young man. How do you decry that which 
someone has chosen to do with his life? How does a mother dishonor the 
sacrifice of her own son?
Mrs. Sheehan has become the poster child for all the negativity 
surrounding the war in Iraq. In a way it heartens me to have all this 
attention paid to her, because that means others in her position now 
have the chance to be heard. Give equal time to other loved ones of 
fallen heroes. Feel the intensity of their love, their pride and the sorrow.
To many loved ones, there are few if any "what ifs." They, like their 
fallen heroes before them, live in the world as it is and not what it 
was or could have been. Think of the sacrifices that have brought us to 
this day. We as a country made a collective decision. We must now live 
up to our decision and not deviate until the mission is complete.
Thirty-five years ago, a president faced a similar dilemma in Vietnam. 
He gave in and we got "peace with honor." To this day, I am still 
searching for that honor. Today, those who defend our freedom every day 
do so as volunteers with a clear and certain purpose. Today, they have 
in their commander in chief someone who will not allow us to sink into 
self-pity. I will not allow him to. The amazing part about talking to 
the people left behind is that I did not want them to stop. After 
speaking to so many I have come away with the certainty of their 
conviction that in a large measure it's because of the deeds and 
sacrifices of their fallen heroes that this is a better and safer world 
we now live in.
Those who lost their lives believed in the mission. To honor their 
memory, and because it's right, we must believe in the mission, too.
We refuse to allow Cindy Sheehan to speak for all of us. Instead, we ask 
you to learn the individual stories. They are glorious. Honor their 
memories.
Honor their service. Never dishonor them by giving in. They never did.
Mr. Griffin is the father of Spc. Kyle Andrew Griffin, a recipient of 
the Army Commendation Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal and the 
Bronze Star, who was killed in a truck accident on a road between Mosul 
and Tikrit on May 30, 2003

 I lost a son in Iraq and Cindy Sheehan does not speak for me.
A quanto pare, c'è molta gente con la stessa "assoluta autorità morale" 
(TM) di Mrs. Sheenan.
E possono dire a Mrs. Sheenan che sbaglia.
Mirco

Mirco Romanato wrote:

Cosa vuoi che ti dica spero che quella brava donna perda altri figli in
guerra visto che le piace :D
-- 
You_fuck_with_the_bull-You_gonna_get_the_horns

 guerra visto che le piace :D
Cosa avrebbe fatto tua madre per essere al posto suo???
Parecchio, di sicuro.
Mirco

Mirco Romanato wrote:

Se le piace le piace è contenta che suo figlio sia morto per Bush lo dice a
chiare lettere, perchè non darle altri momenti di felicità?
-- 
You_fuck_with_the_bull-You_gonna_get_the_horns

Iraq. Sorry, senator. Not for me.
Gran donna!
-Stefano