The Time For Protest Has Passed

To the Editor:

Having read the article about the antiwar protest in front of the town hall this past week, I felt I had to write. With all due respect to Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son and has a right to her grief, why does it make her an authority over anyone else regarding this war? Why is she suddenly an expert on foreign policy? Does she have a greater claim than the parents of other soldiers who have also died in Iraq? And why is it that those who are protesting the war cannot see that it is this sort of thing that demoralizes our troops more than anything else?

The time for protests was before military action took place. Now that we are in the thick of it, giving our soldiers and their commanders our support is important if we are to get this over as quickly as possible. As history has proven, we were winning militarily in Vietnam. If it hadn’t been for the protesting at home, the Vietcong most likely would have surrendered. However, they admit that they hung in there because of the massive unrest back in the United States. Have we not learned our lesson?

For Cindy Sheehan to state that America is not a country worth dying for is outrageous. It is a slap in the face to those who have served and who are serving now. (Those whom we are fighting would never even give a woman like Sheehan a chance to appear in public, let alone speak out against the government. Can’t she see the irony?) And, for anyone to say our soldiers didn’t expect to go into combat when they enlisted is ludicrous. You don’t become a chef if you don’t expect to be in a hot kitchen. Those who sign on to become soldiers know the risks. They accept them. I only wish I had had that much integrity and courage when I was younger.

I expect that my letter will spark some harsh criticism in the next edition of this paper. It will be interesting to see some of the arguments that other people will bring forth.

Pamela Meister

11 Park Lane, Newtown                                              August 19,2005