The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep
by Ed Naha | Jun 30 2007 - 10:33am


A month ago, Cindy Sheehan described America as "a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people (American troops in Iraq) will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives."

The description was found in Sheehan's "farewell" to the organized (?) anti-war movement, entitled "Good Riddance Attention Whore." Her screed and her opinions were roundly ridiculed and termed "bitter" by both sides of the political spectrum.

~snip~

As usual, Sheehan was dead-on in her assessment and, as usual, she was dissed for it. In a Frank Capra film, she'd be the female Jimmy Stewart character who beats the system in the final reel. In real life, the system pummeled her, costing Sheehan her marriage, her savings and her health.

What I liked most about Cindy Sheehan was what she wasn't. She wasn't a politician, a pundit, a professional celebrity, a national leader wannabe, a hawker of books or a paid geopolitical expert. She was a mom whose son, Casey, died in Iraq. All she wanted was to meet George W. Bush and ask the question: "Why did my son die?"

~snip~

That's easy. Vietnam was an equal opportunity death trap. The Iraq fiasco is open only to those who volunteer.

During Nam, everyone between the ages of 18 and 26 had a draft card. Initially, there were deferments for hardship cases (like Cheney) and students. They soon evaporated. As the amount of troops bogged down in Nam ballooned towards 500,000, a lottery was put in place. On December 1st, 1969, the Selective Service instituted what we called the "Death Lotto."


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