Cindy Sheehan has been working to bring the troops back from Iraq since her son was killed in April 2004. But nearly 20 days ago, she took a stand that attracted the attention of the world.
On Aug. 6, Sheehan set up a tent outside President Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch and demanded an audience with the President.
Sheehan acknowledges that it is unlikely that Bush will meet with her, and she doesn’t expect him to. But over the past two weeks, she has been able to broadcast her message from Texas to India and Australia. Sheehan’s success demonstrates that hers is a highly effective model of activism.
Sheehan lost her son, Spc. Casey Sheehan, while he was serving in Baghdad. After learning of his death, she formed Gold Star Families for Peace, and recruited other civilians who had lost family members in battle.
For six months, Sheehan worked with her organization on a small scale to support the anti-war movement. While in Washington to protest Bush’s inauguration, Sheehan and about 20 others attempted to meet with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon. They were stopped by Pentagon police before they could even reach the property.
The success of this more recent effort lies in the context. Sheehan’s timing was ideal: she exploited the “August lull,” when White House reporters encamped at Crawford have little other news to fill their pages.
She also took advantage of growing dissatisfaction with the war. Bush’s favorable rating dropped below 50 percent for the first time on July 29, 2005, according to a Gallup poll.
Finally, the location of Sheehan’s stand creates a powerful juxtaposition of a grieving mother and a vacationing President. Had Sheehan camped out on Pennsylvania Avenue, she likely would have received minimal press attention.
But it is difficult to ignore the image of President Bush avoiding the mother of an American soldier while he clears brush or speeds off to another a Republican Party fundraiser.
By seizing these opportunities, Sheehan has become the voice and the symbol of the anti-war movement today.
Georgetown students take on all kinds of causes, and they are often frustrated by their inability to get their voices heard. They should take Sheehan’s lead in utilizing time and place to drive home her point.
