Controversies: September 2005 Archives

For the herd of independent minds in the mass media, the Cindy Sheehan storyline is set in stone: bereaved mom of dead soldier turns on foolish president, updates at 11. Media accounts almost invariably say that Specialist Sheehan "was killed in Iraq," or he "died in Iraq," without mentioning the Mahdi Army, the gang of thugs who killed him.

The Mahdi Army is led by dimwit cleric Moqtada "Mookie" al Sadr, and they have few principles beyond hatred of America, the state of Israel, any Muslim whose theology varies from their own, the use of soap, etc. Last year, they tried to take over Baghdad, with the goal of seizing the southern half of Iraq.

If the Mahdi Army had gained power, they promised to institute the full Mookie: everyone would have been oppressed with an uncompromising version of Sharia law, and Iranian despots would have had a large say in Iraq's internal affairs — that is, if Iraq continued to exist. This is a group of (ahem) individuals who are not excessively devoted to the natural moral law.

Had it not been for men like Casey Sheehan, the Mahdi Army would have at least carved out a terrorist enclave for themselves, much as the jihadis established Fallujah as their home base around the same time. Dozens of American soldiers like Specialist Sheehan died while defending the populace of Iraq.

You could read all of that by trolling through news accounts. But who was Casey Sheehan, the man? That's not as well-known. His mother carries his 8x10 portrait to protest rallies, in a twisted parody of a religious procession, as if she is carrying a saint's icon that she intends to use as a weapon.

But that belittles the flesh-and-blood Casey Sheehan, who could well be a saint. He was an altar boy as a youth, and served as a eucharistic minister for his fellow soldiers. On the day he died, he went to Mass, and when he got back he heard that the Mahdi Army had trapped a group of soldiers and were slowly picking them off, one by one. Specialist Sheehan volunteered to help rescue them.

He didn't have to go. He was a mechanic, and nobody ordered him on the mission. But he insisted on helping his comrades. Fanatic thugs ambushed his vehicle and murdered him and another soldier, Corporal Forest J. Jostes.

Specialist Sheehan and six other soldiers died that day, Palm Sunday, 2004. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for battlefield valor.

His mother basks in the attention she would not receive if she were just another crank with no dead son. I pray that Casey Sheehan is basking in the pleasures of heaven, a well-deserved reward for his Christ-like desire to place others' lives before his own.

(Read a short biography of Casey Sheehan here.)

I used to think that Cindy Sheehan used to deserve the benefit of the doubt because she lost a son in Iraq, and has been obviously manipulated by the paranoic fringe of the Left. Today, we can accurately call her a media whore with no fear of slandering her. Unfair? Look at her expression as she is arrested in front of the White House for obstructing the sidewalk:

Does it look like she's "grieving"? Can we all stop pretending she's motivated by moral indignation?

Cindy Sheehan will spend the evening in jail, then perhaps she will be charged with a misdemeanor, pay a small fine, and that's it. For that, she is called a "hero" and lionized in the media. But her son does not get one-hundredth of the attention of his camera-loving mother, and that is a crime, too. Casey Sheehan not only did his duty, he went above and beyond it — and died a glorious death. He died after volunteering for rescue mission to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. He was under no obligation to go on that mission; indeed, he was on his second enlistment, so he didn't have to be a soldier in the first place.

Casey represents what is best about America, and indeed humanity itself: the willingness to risk one's life for others. There is no better kind of death, except dying for the Cross. By contrast, his mother represents self-absorbtion, emotion posing as moral analysis, and dialogue by shrieking — the very things that threaten our foundation as a democracy. For if we can't discuss anything rationally, and constantly excoriate our country and its institutions, how can we possibly continue?

Hitting the fan this month: a Midwest clampdown on a strange lay group, the "Love Holy Trinity Blessed Mission".

Cardinal George bans group over concerns of cult-like behavior (official statement)

Abp. Hanus of Dubuque does the same (Rockford and Madison too)
Series of reports from Dubuque newspaper

The web encyclopedia Wikipedia has an article on the developing story.

From the group's web site, it seems they took over a Chicago Polish religious/cultural organization called Nowy Zycie (New Life).

Critics on an anti-cult forum [very long thread] say that the mystic lady behind it all is an ex-Buddhist who claims to read souls and sit on our Lord Jesus' lap as He gives her spiritual direction.

Maybe there's an inter-religious analogy: this PDF booklet from the sect is so full of slogans and recruitment appeals, it reminds me of certain Buddhist groups that seem to reduce a whole religion to a few formulas and a lot of chanting. Several pages of the booklet are composed of letters ostensibly written by children in the group's school, and it's creepy to think of their childhood being deformed by this weird organization.

(Exercise for the reader: find the link between this group and the fictional evangelist Leo Bebb.)

(And a hat tip to Papabile.)