thank you cindy!

yesterday I learned that on monday cindy sheehan resigned as the "the so-called 'face' of the american anti-war movement." I am so sorry that she is leaving her work feeling so betrayed and so burned-out. but I completely understand. I would like to offer my thanks to cindy for all of her hard work and for all of the sacrifices she has made towards trying to bring peace. so many people and 'institutions' in america have treated cindy very, very poorly. as most strong, outspoken women experience in this wonderfully egalitarian land of ours*, cindy was demonized, ridiculed and misunderstood. but she carried on. cindy joined a peace movement that was struggling hard and long to bring attention to the situation in iraq. her mother's voice became a catalyst for growth and renewal (and according to some in the media she is credited with creating the current peace movement.*) cindy worked tirelessly and valiantly for peace and every single day she opened her own wounds of grief as she shared the story of her son casey's death.

this month will be the third anniversary of casey's death; as everyone who has lost a child or a much loved family member knows, the days leading up to an anniversary are very, very difficult. for most of us this 'anniversary pain' diminishes as the years pass. however, for the last three years cindy has bravely chosen to take a path where she has had to relive her much beloved son casey's death every single day. sadly, I expect this anniversary will be just as painful as that first anniversary for cindy. to add insult to injury the democrats (who one would think would be carrying out the people's mandate "to end the war") essentially just gave W another blank check! cindy, we you are not alone in your grief nor are you alone in feeling betrayed - in fact, we have all been betrayed.

I can only imagine what cindy has gone through these last few years. I admire cindy for her strength, outspokenness, and for carrying on so long. I hope cindy realizes that there are millions of people - all around the world - who admire what she has done, the sacrifices she has made, and for trying so long and so hard. we thank you.

cindy closes her 'resignation letter' with these words:
Good-bye America...you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can't make you be that country unless you want it. It's up to you now.

I can't help but weep.

*please feel free to resurrect and add wayne's world classic NOT!! at the point

picture: cindy being interviewed during the sept 2005 massive anti-war protest in washington, dc