Hard Truths

This Saturday on the NARN broadcast, we discussed Cindy Sheehan and her vigil outside of President Bush's compound in Texas. My colleagues were united in saying the President agreeing to meet with her would be pointless. The spectacle would only be enflamed by succumbing to her politically motivated demands.

I, the lone voice of brave dissent, made the point that Bush should probably meet with the woman, if for no other reason to undercut the publicity storm she's brewed up with her ghoulish enablers in the media. Our beloved W. is an adult, an intelligent man with truth on his side. He should respect this woman's position, take her questions and answer them thoughtfully and maybe do some persuading of her and the country.

Truth be told, I hadn't followed the Sheehan case very closely. I skim read the media reports, knew her thumbnail bio, and that was enough to inform my dissent. And now, upon further review, I must admit, I was wrong.

One of the few lessons I've learned in this life as irrefutable truth is that there is no good to be achieved in arguing with crazy people. Craziness, which can be defined more broadly than actual mental illness, to include consuming, obsessive passion that causes a degradation of logic and reasonable adherence to factual argument.

May God bless Cindy Sheehan and the sacrifice her family has given for this country's defense, but she fits this definition. Her words, as reported by James Taranto:

I'm gonna tell them, "You get that evil maniac [the president] out here, cuz a Gold Star Mother, somebody who's blood is on his hands, has some questions for him."

You tell me the truth. You tell me that my son died for oil. You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich. You tell me my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East. You tell me that, you don't tell me my son died for freedom and democracy.

Cuz, we're not freer. You're taking away our freedoms. The Iraqi people aren't freer, they're much worse off than before you meddled in their country.

You get America out of Iraq, you get Israel out of Palestine

Holy Moses. Christopher Hitchens has more on Sheehan's political analysis, calling it "sinister piffle." And he's right in that characterization, no matter how sympathetic the bearer of that piffle is. Which is why the President of the United States has no business giving credence to this ranting, malevolent rhetoric. Meeting with her would be the equivalent of giving an official audience to the likes Michael Moore or the Daily Kos, serving no purpose other than amplifying the grotesque political theater of these destructive fools.

So, in regard to my first hour commentary last Saturday, never mind. As usual, King Banaian, John Hinderaker, and Mitch Berg were right (extremely right). And this time, they were also correct.

I have to believe many of Sheehan's supporters have a similar basis for testimony as I originally did. That is, the skim review of sympathetic mainstream reports. With alternate information streams now filling in the gaps, hopefully a broader picture of the antics down in Crawford will be revealed to the masses. If not, and ignorance continues to guide public opinion and embolden her sponsors and advocates, the sad exploitation of vulnerable Cindy Sheehan will continue. Which wouldn't be surpsing. Ignorance and exploitation are the stuff media sensations are made of.