There is a movement afoot to nominate Cindy Sheehan as the Time Magazine Person of the Year for 2005. Without any doubt, Cindy's tireless efforts have been the spark for the downturn of the Bush administration's political fortunes. But her work has always been on behalf of someone else. Furthermore, to think of Cindy strictly in terms of her political influence tends to miss the point.
This is why I believe that Cindy's son, Casey Sheehan, should be recognized as Time Magazine's Person of the Year.
I followed the link in
Sprinkles' post, urging me to submit Cindy's name as my choice for Time's Person of the Year. When I got to the page, the first thing that caught my notice was the submission of a person named Frank, who suggested that the
fallen American soldier be Time's Person of the Year. I remembered that in 2003 it was the American soldier who was chosen as the Person of the Year, and then it landed on me like a ton of bricks.
Casey Sheehan is the only Iraq War casualty who I know by name.
I know what Casey looks like. I would recognize him immediately if I ran into him on the street. I know how he conducted his life, I know his tastes, his likes and dislikes, his dreams, hopes, and ambitions. I know something about who Casey Sheehan is.
Two thousand is a number. It was the year of the millenium. Christianity is about 2000 years old. Two thousand dollars will get you through the month. It's a nice, respectable-sized number. Not as impressive a number as a hundred thousand, not as unwieldy as a trillion, and not as lonely as one.
Casey Sheehan is a man. He has friends, family, a girlfriend, and a mother. He walked and talked, loved and laughed, and made a mark on the world. He left a mark after he was gone.
Cindy's contribution to the world is not in turning public opinion against an irresponsible president who wages an immoral war. I'm not even sure if she can take the credit for that. Cindy Sheehan made the world a better place because she introduced us to her son, Casey. Through Casey, I learned what the number two thousand means, and if I had never met him, two thousand would be just another number to me.
Casey Sheehan should be Time's Person of the Year for 2005. To the minds of all of us who do not have a personal stake in the Iraq War, he alone represents the fallen American soldier. I can weep for Casey, but I cannot shed a single tear for a number.
The nomination form can be found here. If you agree that Casey should be nominated, don't forget to recommend this diary.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and thank you, Cindy, for introducing me to your son.