With Respect, Cindy Sheehan

Just about everybody are commenting on the grieving mother turned political campaigner and I will prove no better.

She is following her heart and that is all that matters, really. Yet, there are two things that are disturbing me with this quote by Sheehan responding to a statement from in-laws objecting to her campaign and opinions:

"We have always been on separate sides of the fence politically and I have not spoken to them since the elections when they supported the man who is responsible for Casey's death," Sheehan said.

The first is that if you are so opinionated that you cannot separate politics from family, you have a problem. If maintaining relations with those who should matter most is less important that a presidential election, you have some serious issues to solve. In my eyes, her opinionated mind-frame eats at her credibility. She might be right on all points, but she's also weird.

My second problem is her saying “the man responsible for Casey’s death.” I beg you a pardon? It doesn’t matter if you are supporting or opposing the war, the commander in chief is not the person responsible for a soldier’s death. There is accountability, yes, but not in the way she is suggesting. This is her grief showing trough and we feel with her, but she is also using it as a political bat and I am not entirely comfortable with that. Unfortunately for Cindy and Casey and everybody else, we’re not issued a voting card when we sign up with the military. We pledge to follow the orders of the commander in chief no matter what and even at risk to our lives. No, that isn't comfy to me either but I can’t see how an army would work in any other way.