This is about far more than a conversation with George Bush

[dissent1977]

The media has been portraying Cindy Sheehan's campout in Crawford as little more than an attempt to "seek an audience with the President".

While that is certainly one of Cindy's goals, I am sure that even she knows very well that a ten-minute conversation with Bush will not change his mind on anything. What Cindy Sheehan is doing is she is inspiring others to go out and seek change, and that is why her stand in Crawford is so significant.

To pretend this is merely about having a talk with Bush marginalizes what Cindy is doing. This is about building the anti-war movement and standing up to the Bush regime. Cindy just became the new face of the anti-war movement and she may well have just earned herself a place in the history books. If she sticks with this like I suspect she will she could well have a place right alongside such greats as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and Gandhi. We must get her to that point, and that is why it is so important that we support her.

[libertypirate]

1. This is Bush's accountability moment!

[dissent1977]

5. It is even more than that

A ten-minute conversation with Bush is not enough to really hold him accountable for all his crimes, and I am sure Cindy knows that.

This is about taking a stand and building a movement, and that is why this is so important. We may have just found the face of the anti-war movement, and that is hugely significant.

[uppityperson]

2. It is, but the focus must remain on Cindy

It is about the lies and manipulations and about all of us. However, it was begun, as was Rosa Parks, by 1 woman simply saying no. We must support her and the larger picture too.

[dissent1977]

8. I agree with you there.

Just like the civil rights movement focused on Rosa Parks even though there were many others involved in similar acts of civil disobediance, we need to focus on Cindy.

She is the new face of the anti-war movement, and we need to put her front and center but at the same time we have to realize that she can not build a movement by herself.

[LisaM]

3. It's not just the anti-war movement

This administration has done its very best to deny the American citizenry its voice, with their hand-picked audiences, refusal to have press conference, mistrust of the media, and careful staging and scripting of everything they do. How many of us are frustrated at not being heard, despite the fact that the country is evenly split at best, and probably more progressive than not?

[damntexdem]

4. But at the same time, it IS about seeking a conversation.

This is because it highlights that Dubya cannot and will not hold that conversation with her. It highlights the hypocrisy of the Administartion's trying to hide behind, and make political gains from, meeting with war widows on the Administration's turf, under its own control.

[dissent1977]

6. Certainly getting a conversation is one of the small goals

But the larger goal is to show people that if they don't like the way things are going they can stand up and demand change.

Asking for a meeting and being denied certainly highlights the arrogance of the Bush regime, but it is Cindy's perserverance and refusal to cower in the face of one of the most powerful men in the world that truly shows what the anti-war movement is all about. Cindy is accomplishing great things whether she gets a meeting with Bush or not. This is a win-win situation for all those who oppose the war, I don't see any way the Bush Administration can possibly win at this one.

[speedoo]

7. The "conversation" is a metaphor.

It's a metaphor for the lack of accountability by this pathetic administration and the recklessness of it's policies, taken without any regard whatsoever for the welfare of our country and its people.

This administration is incapable of having any kind of conversation with any Americans other than the "have mores". Why else would they utter such stupidities as "You don't start a marketing program until after Labor Day." (paraphrasing The Coward's CofStaff Card, in speaking about the propoganda program that paved the way for this illegitimate war). Or the Crawford Coward's imbecilic joke "Those WMD's gotta be here somewhere."

[OneBlueSky]

9. what this is mostly about is making people THINK . . .

something most of them have managed to avoid doing for the past four or more years . . .

and once they start thinking, and understanding what's going on, we might just be able to end this madness before it consumes us all . . .