Cindy Sheehan Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

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Wed, 15 Feb 2006 22:41:34 -0600

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Cindy Sheehan Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

 

 

Certainly a WONDERFUL nomination, and one that I would support

WHOLEHEARTEDLY!!!

post

 

 

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The Norwegian Nobel Committee

Drammensveien 19

NO-0255 OSLO

Norway <>

 

January 31, 2006 <>

 

To the esteemed committee members:

 

Please kindly consider my nomination of Cindy Sheehan for

the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

<> Cindy Sheehan lost her son Casey on April 4, 2004. She

could have buried her rage and grief with her son, or expressed it in

destructive ways, but instead she decided to transmute these feelings

into a positive drive for justice. <>

 

Cindy gained international attention in August of 2005 when

she traveled to President Bush's home in Crawford, Texas to request an

in-person meeting. She intended to ask the President a question: " What

was the noble cause for which my son died? " She camped out in front of

Mr. Bush's home, awaiting an answer. Eventually, thousands joined her

at " Camp Casey, " and she earned the support of millions more.

 

Cindy's action was spontaneous and heartfelt. She did not

plan to end up on the cover of the most popular weekly news magazines

or at the center of media attention, but she did. Sheehan's quest for

truth and justice started a national dialogue. In doing so, she proved

that the dedication of a single individual can change the dynamic of

world events.

 

<> Up until that moment, the US anti-war movement was

stalled, for lack of direction and will. Cindy Sheehan was the right

person, at the right time, with the right level of commitment. Because

she is the mother of a fallen soldier, she was capable of " bridging

the psychological gap " with Americans of all political stripes.

Conservative military families who would otherwise not seriously

question whether war is an effective way to address US security

concerns have started asking that question. The outcry of a bereaved

mother gives them a dignified way to climb down from their support of

the US military-industrial complex.

 

<> <> Certainly, some military supporters have no interest at

all in climbing down from their position, and we cannot expect this to

happen overnight. After all, it took 20 years for the racist Alabama

Governor George Wallace, who famously stood in the doorway of a

segregated University to block the admission of African-American

students in the 1960s, to admit his error and apologize. Even if such

conversions take time and effort, Sheehan's efforts to reach out to

those with whom she most adamantly disagrees shows she is entering the

realm of nonviolence that Nobel laureate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

modeled.

 

Cindy Sheehan has made a serious effort to reach out even to

individual and large groups of counter-protestors, who not only

support the war, but also in some cases seek to humiliate herself and

her supporters. For example, according to a UC Berkeley Peace and

Conflict Studies student who was an eyewitness to the event, " A

veteran came to Camp Casey on the weekend in his uniform, marched up

to her with all the cameras looking on and showed a sign to her

indicating that he was a veteran, that he thought what she was doing

was wrong, and that he supported the commander in chief. Cindy simply

took his hand and led him away from the cameras, then embraced him for

several minutes while talking (inaudibly) to him. After several

minutes he began to hug her back. He wound up apologizing and telling

her that he felt sorry about Casey and that he would support her, and

that if [he] had died, then his mother would be out in Crawford too.

It was a very beautiful moment in humanity. "

 

In another instance of Sheehan's desire to bridge the chasm,

according to Scott Galindez of truthout.org, on August 29, 2005 " There

was a candle light vigil honoring troops who have died in Iraq. The

counter protesters came across the street and joined the vigilers at

Camp Casey. They shared the flag and prayed together for the families

on both sides who have lost loved ones in the war. They are now

singing and holding candles together. This is a testament to the power

of this movement. "

 

<> more recently, On September 24, 2005, Cindy Sheehan

performed what could be the most patriotic act any citizen can against

a government's immoral actions: civil disobedience. She and others,

citing their constitutional right to meet with governmental

representatives to redress wrongs, attempted to enter the White House

and meet with President Bush. They were promptly arrested. Both Gandhi

and King agreed that " unearned suffering is redemptive " and

" non-cooperation with evil is as much an obligation as cooperation

with good. " Cindy is taking the unearned suffering of her son's death

and transforming it into concrete, redemptive action. <>

 

Cindy Sheehan deserves the Nobel Peace Prize because she has

modeled courage and personal determination, and has inspired her

fellow citizens to believe that if our dedication is deep enough, we

can end the illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq and move our

society closer to a culture of peace.

 

Sincerely,

 

<>Prof. Michael N. Nagler

Founder, Peace and Conflict Studies Program

Prof. Emeritus, Classics and Comparative Literature

<>author, " The Search for a Nonviolent Future "

 

<>University of California, Berkeley

101 Stephens Hall

Berkeley, CA 94720-2306

<>mnagler

+1 510 642 4101

 

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