Cindy Sheehan Is My Hero

Cindy Sheehan is my hero. She is the hero of all Americans who make up the 62% of us who oppose this war. As an American exercising her right to free speech, she is a brave, passionate, living example of democracy, and she has the undeniable force and the moral authority of a grieving mother. Being a mother of three, I can't even imagine the depths of the grief she must feel having lost her son in this horrific war. But I can imagine that her grief and rage -- her demand for justice and action -- are a force that is unstoppable.

No wonder Bush is intimidated. No wonder he can't even walk down his driveway to speak with her. He is scared shitless.

Whether he acknowledges it or not -- whether his aides try to insulate him from the truth or not -- his hands are covered in the blood of Cindy Sheehan's son. They are dripping with the blood of all who have died there. The real truth he simply can’t face is that the woman he never called by name (he condescendingly referred to her only as "mom" at a meeting last year) has now become his worst nightmare. She embodies the insistent, passionate voice of the majority of Americans -- a "mom" who has scared Bush into hiding. Well, you can run, Bush, but you can't hide. Her courage is waking up America.

I bet Bush wishes he'd chosen some remote island in the South Pacific for his vacation instead of Crawford, Texas.

Let's see how loud we can make our protests -- if she can do it, why can't we all? We must all make our voices heard. She is a heroic inspiration to the silent majority and one big, jagged, terrifying thorn in Bush's side.

I wonder if Laura Bush would be camped out next to her if one of her daughters was killed in Iraq. At least I think she might be able to walk down her driveway and talk to Cindy. As a fellow mother, I hope she wouldn't be afraid-- I hope she'd understand.