Another jaded soul...

So... You have probably heard the news about Cindy Sheehan stepping out of the public limelight and stopping her crusade as "the face of the anti-war movement". She released a statement entitled "Good Riddance, Attention Whore", detailing her reasons for getting out of the political frey: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/23018 If the title doesn't clue you in, one of the most depressing things about this letter to America is it's utter bitterness. The message itself isn't filled with material that is all that surprising, but the jaded nature of the letter is a slap in the face. A cause for a moment of serious reflection. So, let me back up here a bit for those of you who might not know my policical leanings. I don't agree with Cindy, I think that an immediate withdrawl of US forces from Iraq would be disasterous and would reflect poorly on the nation. Those friends who I discuss political philosophy with can tell you that I was always against going to Iraq before it was fashionable, but now that we are there, to immediately abandon the post would be irresponsible and I believe that it would further weaken US relations and reputation in the world. This isn't too say that I can't respect what Cindy was trying to do. Striving for peace is always a noble cause in my book, even if I sometimes find that the belief in a path to peace requires one to be idealistic to the point of naivete. Cindy had a cause and pursued that cause whole-mindedly, even obsessively. While her message was sometimes garbled by excessive finger-pointing and scape-goating, we might find it reasonable to forgive her in light of the mudslinging that was directed to her. And her considerable losses along the way. It is sobering to see that this, her final message directed to all of America, is one of bitter regrets and despair. I, for one, hope that when she is able to step back a while and reflect, she might see that her voice was heard by many. To recognize that her influence may have reached further than she knows. To focus on the positive relationships she found and not to merely have come to regard the majority of the population with distain. I hope that our political system is not as flawed as Cindy believes, or as I sometimes fear...