Editorial: Let Cindy Sheehan be the spark that gets your own passion burning

Ruth called it Saturday at The Common Ills in her latest Ruth's Morning Edition Report: The Summer of Activism. That's what we're seeing.

While Matt Taibii and others sneer, pockets of activism have been springing up all over the country. Cindy Sheehan's month long vigil at Camp Casey (I & II) in Crawford, Texas finally pushed the issue into the national discussion.

The invasion/occupation wasn't a topic that Americans were unclear on. Polls have consistently demonstrated that the people have turned against the war. But the corporate media found little use for discussions other than to note, usually in passing, the polls on attitudes towards the war.

Brave independent voices have spoken and kept the issue alive for some time. They include, but are not limited to, the passionately pro-peace The Nation (take that George Packer!), Amy Goodman, Dahr Jamail, Matthew Rothschild, and a host of others.

Did we mention Amy Goodman? Let's note her again. While surveys show an erosion of the public's faith in mainstream journalism, Democracy Now! has gone from the little engine that could to the news program that can. Available on radio, television and the web, Democracy Now! has grown and continues to grow. Whether on campus, at church, at a peace rally, in the grocery store, or where ever, it's becoming harder and harder to find ourselves in a conversation with someone where they don't bring up Democracy Now! at some point.

As Luke noted this summer at wotisitgood4, Goodman's become the equivalent of a rock star. If you're "in the know," you're following Democracy Now! in audio, video or transcript form. There's a reason for that. Besides being a daily information packed news hour, Democracy Now! didn't rely on generals and government spokespersons to discuss the invasion/occupation. Not before we went into Iraq and not during. While the mainstream media sucks the collective thumb of "we were all wrong," the fact of the matter is "we" were not all wrong. What happened was voices were shut out of the debate in the mainstream media.

While it's true that the occupation has blown up in the faces of the Bully Boy, it's also true that it's blown up in the faces of the mainstream media who, as a group, acted as cheerleaders for war. While they repeatedly wash their hands like Lady MacBeth, the public notes that they were all wrong. The fact that they are still commenting and, in many cases, arguing that the "war can still be won" with a little fine tuning, only deepens the distrust.

People like Amy Goodman have kept the truth alive in the darkest hours. Light bulbs have come along. Bright Eyes performance of "When A President Talks To God" was one example. Jane Fonda's statement about the war, and the loud applause that greeted it, on the David Letterman show in April was another. Pacifica's live coverage of the John Conyers, Jr. hearing on the Downing St. Memo and how we were lied into war was another. Bit by bit, these moments began to register and build. And as we saw the reaction, the nation started to realize that, as the polls had demonstrated, the whole country wasn't lined up behind the pundits and the press in blind support for a continued occupation.

With all of that building, Cindy Sheehan sets up camp in Crawford and becomes, as she'd hoped, a spark that finally turns private conversations into a national dialogue.

The dialogue's started. We've moved beyond the national lethargy. Let this Summer of Activism spill over into the other seasons. The dialogue's begun and we'll need to be able to count on all the people who are already on board but we need to realize that others have joined the cause. Still others would if they knew the issues at stake.

This is where you come in. You've got to continue to take the lead on itiating the dialogue and discussion in your own circles. Cindy Sheehan can be the spark, she can't be an entire movement.

As Elaine noted Friday, let Sheehan's actions motivate you take ownership of your own life. That's what a democracy should be about.



[This editorial was written by the following: The Third Estate Sunday Review's Ty, Jess, Dona, Jim and Ava, C.I. of The Common Ills, Betty of Thomas Friedman is a Great Man, Kat of Kat's Korner, Elaine substituting for Rebecca at Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude and Mike of Mikey Likes It!]