I Give Up
Writer's Block And IndifferenceI've been trying for over two weeks to write an essay about Cindy Sheehan that was both innovative yet compassionate.
And . . . I can't. The task is too much.
The innovative bit, I was all over that. I had a really great setup, comparing Cindy's speeches and blog posts with the famed Kübler-Ross Model of the five stages of grief. The second step is anger, and she really hasn't got past that.
No, the trouble was remaining compassionate. The reason why Cindy's presence in Crawford has been effective (to whatever extent it has been) is because, in the words of New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, she has "absolute moral authority." Stating truths about Cindy Sheehan is tantamount to launching personal attacks on her.
And I wanted to take the high road.
But when I see her say things like this:
I am starting to lose a little compassion for [Gold Star Moms who still support the war] (h/t RCP). . . and this:
George is finished playing golf and telling his fables in San Diego, so he will be heading to Louisiana to see the devastation that his environmental policies and his killing policies have caused. (h/t Hugh). . . the possibility of discussing Cindy Sheehan and still maintaining a modicum of compassion approaches nil. I'm simply not that good a writer.
I wouldn't trade places with Cindy Sheehan for a blank check from an oil company CEO. But it's impossible to come to any other conclusion than she's filled with such narcissism and loathing that she deserves pitied contempt. Who's responsible for her son's death? Not the murderous lunatics who'd rather kill 1,800 American soldiers than surrender their twisted ideology of terror and death, but George W. Bush. And hurricanes, especially powerful ones, have evidently never existed until George W. Bush placed his hand on the Bible on January 20, 2001.
With the entire English language at my command, I can't think of a way to describe such intellectual depravity and yet not sound mean. So be it.
I wallowed in the self-pity of my ineptitude for a couple days, but witnessing the catastrophic events on the Gulf Coast has given me a powerful wake-up call. There are worse things than writer's block. It's surreal to hear the news that the entire city of New Orleans has been evacuated. Due to the blow Hurricane Katrina delivered to the domestic oil production capabilities on the Gulf Coast, gas prices have spiked again. I don't care.
And Cindy Sheehan still blames the President and will follow him to Washington. How completely irrelevant she has become.
I won't be around to post tomorrow, but I'm still participating in the Hurricane Katrina Blog For Relief Day. Click here to go to the American Red Cross Relief Fund set up for the hundreds of thousands of victims of Katrina.
Let's offer more than Cindy Sheehan's vendetta of hatred.
posted by Marsh @ 4:44 PM
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