Cindy Sheehan

Most of us know Ms. Sheehan because of her anti-war protests outside of President Bush's Crawford home. She has been on TV, pictured with Hugo Chavez, praised and villified. I am one who has thought of her in a negative light but her letter/blog that she was giving up the anti-war movement made her sound human and made me pause to think.

I cannot say anything against her bitterness over her son's death. I cannot pretend to know the horror I would feel if it were one of my children. While her crusade led her down some paths that seemed bizarre at times, I want to believe the motivation for it was due to the loss she suffered. Yet, as her "fame" rose, her personal relationships seemed to fall apart. Her husband divorced her and it seems she has other children that were left behind in the wake of her effort.
Now, she seems a sad and broken woman. One of her comments, that the American people are more concerned with the next American Idol than the loss of life in a war, doesn't sound to off-base at times. Her realization that she has failed important relationships in her life isn't too unlike many people we come in contact with every day.

I am here to say that I am not so unlike Ms. Sheehan. I often see what needs to be more important in other's lives while falling short of doing what is best in mine. My hope for her is that she can go and repair some of her broken relationships (which is why she said she is giving up the protest), that the damage left behind her can be fixed all the while hoping that as a country, we will all be more focused on what is truly important. I know that is what I want to do.