Are We Really Enemies? Cindy Sheehan and the Media Narrative

In Texas, Cindy Sheehan still sits outside of Bush’s ranch, demanding answers for her son’s death in Iraq. Outside Texas, public conversation about the validity of the Iraq “war” continues to polarize.

The story itself aside, I find myself fascinated by the media’s role in creating this conflict. Going to ABCNews.com today, I was greeted by the following banner headline:

Military Mom Takes Pro-War Stance
President Bush may have a secret weapon to combat the anti-war debate outside his Texas compound in the form of an Idaho mother.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/IraqCoverage/story?id=1066030&page=1

It’s an interesting slant, in light of the fact that original story is about Cindy Sheehan and how she deals with the pain over losing her son. Those who know her are part of this very personal story; those who do not know her (the vast majority of Americans) were not aware of her story.

The story is no longer about Cindy Sheehan -- for her story has been hijacked, she and her son subsumed into someone else’s narrative. Her grief has been recast by the media as a black-and-white melodrama, an epic battle between opposing political forces.

And it is in this form that the story reaches most of us. It’s less about Cindy Sheehan and more about “How do I feel about the war?” and “Is the war right?” It encourages us to choose sides, and these sides have been invariably created by the media that has delivered the message to our doorstep. Our frame of reference has been determined for us, without our consent, and we accept it blindly simply because we do not know (or have forgotten) the original seed from which the media’s narrative has sprung.

Are these two mothers really antagonists? Do they really want different things? And what of the rest of us? Are we really that different in our feelings?

In contrast to the public narrative, I do not believe we are truly teams of black and white, blue and red, good and bad. We are each blended people, capable of nuance; we share much in common with both mothers and with each other; our feelings about the whole brutal affair are mottled.

Who cannot empathize with the pain of both mothers and grieve with them over a loss that they should not have experienced? Who does not possess some amount of doubt (no matter how small) about the validity of this war? Who enjoys the idea of inflicting violence and death upon other human beings, even if we believe it necessary in the name of “freedom?”

We are not as different from each other as we have been led to believe.

No matter what the media’s narrative suggests, even at times when we believe we must support one side or another, we are not nor have we ever been enemies.