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The Sounds of Hope
by Cindy Sheehan
Have
you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?
The torrential rains of a mother's weeping will never be done.
They call him a hero, you should be glad he's one, but,
Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?
Have
you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries?
They say he must be brave because his boy died for another mans
lies.
The only thing he allows himself are long, deep sighs.
Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his
cries?
Have
you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave?
They say he died so the flag will continue to wave,
But I believe he died because they had oil to save.
Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's
grave?
Have
you ever heard the sound of a Nation Rocked to Sleep?
The leaders want to keep you numb so the pain won't be so deep,
But if we the people let them continue, another mother will
weep.
Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Rocked to Sleep?
~
A Nation Rocked To Sleep/For Casey
By Carly Sheehan
Copyrighted 2004
07/18/05
- - The
sounds my daughter wrote about in her inspired poem, so poignantly
and amazingly a few weeks after her brother, my son, was killed in
Iraq, have been repeated over and over again too many times since
the criminal invasion/occupation of Iraq began in March of 2003.
These
sounds are imprinted in my DNA. I will never, ever forget the
night of April 4, 2004, when I found out that Casey had been
killed. After what seemed an eternity, I finally began to wonder
who or what was making those horrible screaming noises. Then I
realized it was me. It couldn’t have been Casey’s father,
because he was paralyzed in stunned silence holding the pair of
pants he had been folding when the deliverers of death news
arrived.
I
will also never forget the day when we buried my sweet boy, my
oldest son. I’ll never forget the playing of taps, or the
violent, and in hindsight, thoughtless, volley of the 21-gun
salute. If I live to be a very old lady and forget everything
else, I will never forget when the general handed me the folded
flag that had lain on Casey’s coffin, as his brother and
sisters, standing behind me, sobbed.
The
saddest thing about the obscene sounds of violence is that they
never should have been heard in the first place. From Maine to
California, and from Baghdad to Falluja, these dirges were
unnecessary. In my travels, and from hundreds of emails, phone
calls, and cards and letters, I am discovering that people who
formerly supported the invasion of Iraq are withdrawing their
support. I even believe that many of our fellow citizens who still
support the ignominy of Iraq are doing so because they are
clinging to the deceptions so desperately, because they want the
deceptions to so be the truth. It will be painful to come to terms
with supporting the lies of this administration. It will be
painful to know that wholesale killing of innocent people occurred
because you and so many others believed the betrayals, but
acknowledging the mistake is the first step to correcting it. And
believe me, acknowledging the mistake is not as painful as hearing
those devastating sounds.
Rep.
Walter Jones (R-NC) has realized that he had been duped into
supporting the invasion. I have spoken to him about his change of
heart, and he is so sad that his wholehearted support of the
administration helped cause so many good people to hear those gut
wrenching sounds of grief. But he is going forward to do what he
can to end this occupation as soon as possible. He has
co-sponsored a bi-partisan bill (HRJ 55) with other
Congressional leaders like Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Ron Paul
(R-TX) to force our administration into a troop withdrawal
beginning October 1, 2006. The bill is a good first step to
ensuring that families here in America and all over the world do
not have to suffer needless death in war. However, I would like
the withdrawal to begin tomorrow, because I don't even want to try
and imagine the sounds Casey heard before he died. I don't want to
imagine the sound of the bullet strong enough to pierce the Kevlar
coating on his helmet to rip through his skull. I don’t want to
know the sounds of a mother in Iraq wailing for her entire family.
These sounds need to stop immediately. It is time to bring our
troops home.
The
sound I do want to hear is the sound of a Nation Waking Up. I will
rejoice to hear the sounds of the collective Mea Culpa and the
beating of breasts. I want to hear the deafening clicks as the
steady stream of news-o-tainment is turned off, propaganda that is
turning us into zombies who are numb to the truth. I want to hear
the sound of our children getting off planes and boats from Iraq
to the joyful squealing of their children and the deep
sighs of relief from their spouses, parents, and other loved ones.
I want to hear our citizenry lifting up their voices in chorus and
singing, "We will never let this happen again."
Cindy
Sheehan [send her mail] is
the mother of Spc.
Casey Austin Sheehan, KIA 04/04/04 She is co-founder of Gold
Star Families for Peace.
Copyright
© 2005 LewRockwell.com
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