Wednesday, August 31

I Give Up

Writer's Block And Indifference

I'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.

|

Name:
Location: Mishawaka, Indiana, United States

I graduated with an English degree from the University Of Notre Dame in 2001, and in 2008 I have a day job that has nothing to do with my degree but gets the bills paid in a semi-regular fashion. (I have running water five days a week!) The idea is that once I get turned around on my bills, I go to grad school. I also have an idea for cold fusion. Anyone's guess which will be feasible first. In non-work mode, I'm usually reading columns by famous and well-read thinkers, blogs by critically praised writers, or sometimes blogs by overzealous cranks who make me laugh. I yearn to be all three at once; until then I'll settle for being the third. I also have an undying love for the Chicago Cubs and Notre Dame football. Praise them and I'll buy you a beer; curse them and I'll dump it over your head. If that's not enough, I'm becoming quite the fan of no-limit Texas Hold'em. My games have one of two results: I either win all the money or whine because I didn't win all the money.

marchandchronicles -at- yahoo.com

Fair warning: I reserve the right to post any and all criticisms and flames, in their entirety. Seriously. Just ask this guy.

July 2006
May 2006
April 2006
January 2006

2005:
January | February | March | April
May | June | July | August
September | October | November | December

Essays on whatever I feel like writing about.

August 8, 2005: High Gas Prices
August 1, 2005: Judge Roberts' Hearings
June 20, 2005: Senator Durbin's Comments
May 23, 2005: Newsweek & Pepsi
May 2, 2005: Al Gore's MoveOn Speech
April 25, 2005: Lebanon
April 18, 2005: The Nuclear Option
April 11, 2005: Pope John Paul II
March 5, 2005: The Domino Effect
January 31, 2005: Iraqi Elections
January 24, 2005: Bush's Inaugural
January 17, 2005: Roemer, Dean & The DNC

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Damn right.

 


SOUTH SHORE
What's Your Line?

 

I absolutely love the name of your site.

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Just the name? Not the content? . . . I'll take it.


You have something in common with Dave Barry, Hemingway, and Mark Steyn: I'm not linking to them, either.

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That's good stuff there Mark.

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Psst, it's "Mike."

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