Take a look at who is being ignored while Left and Right battle over Sheehan. From an incredible post at the great blog, Villainous Company:
When do we get to talk about the war? The parents of the fallen who are not bitter and angry? Americans who support the administration? 9/11 families who don't blame President Bush?
Those who have served or died in Iraq and Afghanistan? Why are these voices not allowed to speak? Or doesn't the Bill of Rights apply to those who spend their lives defending it? Perhaps it is not President Bush who needs to listen:
Sgt. Rafael Peralta didn't have to become a United States Marine. And he didn't have to go to war. That's just the kind of man he was.
He joined the Marine Corps the day after he received his green card. On the walls of his bedroom, there were only three items: the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights and his boot camp graduation certificate. You can see the mind of this hero in his letters he diligently wrote home to his younger brother and sister. Before he left America, he wrote his 14-year old brother Ricardo,
"be proud of me, bro and be proud of being an American."
Ricardo and his sister would receive another letter from their brother:
"I was just doing my homework and there was a knock on the door," said Ricardo Peralta, 14. "The moment I saw them, I knew."
In his letter to Ricardo, Rafael said he was doing something he had always wanted to do. He asked Ricardo to be proud of him because the Marines were making history in Iraq.
Rafael had been killed during an assault on Fallujah.
His body took most of the blast. One Marine was seriously injured, but the rest sustained only minor shrapnel wounds. Cpl. Brannon Dyer told a reporter from the Army Times, "He saved half my fire team."
Most Americans have never heard of Rafael Peralta, and they never will.
The mainstream media does not consider the sacrifices of men like Sgt. Rafael Peralta "newsworthy". The mainstream media do not seem interested in talking to Sgt. Peralta's family. Instead, we get to hear about Cindy Sheehan all day, every day.
Search results:
Chicago Tribune: Rafael Peralta: 0
Cindy Sheehan: 10
Washington Post: Rafael Peralta: 0
Cindy Sheehan: 27
NY Times: Rafael Peralta: 0
Cindy Sheehan: 20
Marine LCpl. Jason L. Dunham: greater love hath no man
Jason Dunham was killed when a grenade exploded. What is unusual is that he placed his helmet on top of it and then rolled on top of the grenade to protect his fellow Marines:
"I deeply believe that given the facts and evidence presented he clearly understood the situation and attempted to block the blast of the grenade from his squad members," Lt. Col. Lopez wrote in a May 13 letter recommending Cpl. Dunham for the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for military valor. "His personal action was far beyond the call of duty and saved the lives of his fellow Marines."
Chicago Tribune: Jason Dunham: 0
Cindy Sheehan: 10 Washington Post: Jason Dunham: 0
Cindy Sheehan: 27
NY Times: Jason Dunham: 0
Cindy Sheehan: 20