"PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEE!!!!!!!"
Posted on 11/18/2007 11:34:30 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan was awarded the 2007 Thomas Merton Award last night for her work within the peace and justice community. Sheehan was unable to attend the ceremony at the Sheraton at Station Square, but accepted the award in absentia.
Sheehan began her career in activism after her son, 25-year-old Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed during a mission in Iraq on April 4, 2004.
Since that date, Sheehan has called for the country's leaders to end the war, recall U.S. troops and hold themselves accountable for the decisions that sent the troops to Iraq.
Sheehan was forced to cancel her appearance at the ceremony at the last minute because of the death of a family friend. Sheehan's close friend and compatriot, retired Army Col. Ann Wright, spoke in her stead and accepted the award on her behalf.
Wright has also been an outspoken critic of the Iraq war and resigned in protest from the U.S. foreign service in March 2003.
In accepting the Thomas Merton Award for Sheehan, Wright offered a few words of advice for her audience.
"We need more people to protest," she said. "While people such as Cindy and I are willing to protest, younger protesters should take up the mantle of protest."
In a video presented to the audience Sheehan urged people to demonstrate against the government's policies.
"Keep up the good work for peace - never give up," Sheehan encouraged.
The sentiments expressed by Sheehan and Wright were echoed by members of the Thomas Merton Center in attendance.
The Merton Center was founded in 1972 and its mission can be summarized in a quotation from Thomas Merton, an influential Catholic writer in the early 20th century: "I am against war, against violence, against violent revolution, for peaceful settlement of differences, for nonviolent but nevertheless radical changes. Change is needed, and violence will not really change anything: at most it will only transfer power from one set of bull-headed authorities to another."
As a means of promoting this vision, Kevin Amos, the spokesman for the center, encouraged the audience to reach out to others.
"To encourage peace and justice, we must inform people. Everyday, if everybody in this room e-mails and calls several friends, we can easily achieve this goal," he said.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were members of the Pittsburgh chapter of Raging Grannies, who brought along their own unique brand of peaceful protest.
In a set of songs, with such titles as "No More War" and "Let's Impeach the President," the Raging Grannies embodied the decidedly anti-war mood of the ceremony.
Darlene Pilirski, a nursing graduate student at Pitt, agreed with much of the content of the ceremony.
With a nephew serving in Iraq, Pilirski noted that "Cindy Sheehan's inspirational message appeals to me, especially since I am a mother and I have a nephew in Iraq now," she said.
In an ominous warning, Samuel Hazo, director of the Pittsburgh International Poetry Forum and emeritus professor of English at Duquesne University, echoed the sentiments of the writer Albert Camus, saying, "The people must oppose what is corrupting the government and the country because the people are the government and country. A person does not know who he is until he knows what he can say 'no' to."
Stupid people seem to be expanding on this world.
The award must not be very important, since she didn’t even bother to show up.
Next comes the Nobel Farse Prize for her and her co-deadhead — the (thank God) female ex-army officer.
These people has been around for decades. They used to break into Nuke sites and pour blood on warheads and hit them with hammers.
Nothing new here, I bet they havent even bathed since those days.
They never have many ideas as to how to stop Raging Terrorists.
Neither did Merton, who was one of the best poets of the 20th century.
Too bad.
Oh, to set off a firecracker when they were doing that! Scene fades to brown and yellow as the smoke cleared.
You raise a very interesting point... why didn't she show up?
“Pacifism is objectively pro-fascist. This is elementary common sense. If you hamper the war effort of one side, you automatically help out that of the other. Nor is there any real way of remaining outside such a war as the present one. In practice, ‘he that is not with me is against me.’”
— George Orwell
Ms. Sheehan notified the Garfield-based peace and justice group that she would be attending a funeral today for her housemate, who was killed in a car accident last Friday in California.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07320/834348-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml
Hmmmm...could “housemate” be a euphemism for “life partner” perhaps?
Molly Rush (co-founder of the Pittsburgh center), Angela Davis, Amy Goodman, Joan Baez; Archbishop of Recife Brazin Dom Helder Camara, Helen Caldicott, Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen, Sweet Honey in the Rock's Bernice Johnson Reagon, Miguel D'Escoto, Daniel Berrigan, Henri Nouwen, Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund, people's historian Howard Zinn, Rev. Lucius Walker of Pastors for Peace, Winona LaDuke and Voices in the Wilderness.The folks at the chapter which gave Sheehan the award should not be confused with the International Thomas Merton Society ...
The ITMS came into being in 1987 to promote a greater knowledge of the life and writings of Thomas Merton, one of the most influential religious figures of our time.The Society sponsors biennial conferences devoted to Merton and his work and supports the writing of general-interest and scholarly books and articles about Merton.
In addition the ITMS awards regular grants to researchers and scholarships to youth. It encourages a variety of activities such as Merton retreats.
Local Chapters and Affiliates of the ITMS across the world reflect a wide range of personal interest and approaches to Thomas Merton.
GOALS OF THE ITMS
To encourage research, study and reading of the works of Thomas Merton.
To promote the writing of both scholarly and popular books and articles about Merton.
To assist members in exploring the unique spiritual journey of Thomas Merton through shared insights.
To promote recognition of Thomas Merton as a spiritual theologian, a social critic, a catalyst for inter-religious dialogue, and as an important American literary figure.
To encourage and assist in the formation of local and regional chapters of the ITMS.
To promote communication among members through biennial general meetings, special meetings and various publications.
To assist in the designing of graduate and undergraduate courses on Thomas Merton in various disciplines of study.
Oh boy! Did that start the wheels turning! Would I love to see a room full of liberals faced with some very noisy, smokey fireworks. Unexpectedly of course.
Perhaps, but I think Cindy's broke. As we predicted, she was a tool of the left until she became a liability (a caricature of herself, the quintessential loony leftist), then was kicked to the curb. She probably really had to shack up with a room mate to make ends meet. Show biz is a cruel mistress.
"PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEE!!!!!!!"
The wrong “womyn” always show up an go topless. Just thinking of Sheehan topless would curb even Bill Clinton’s
sexual appetite...
“Just thinking of Sheehan topless would curb even Bill Clinton’s
sexual appetite...”
I think you’re going out on a limb on that one. :)
Thanks for providing the information about Sheehan’s absence from her award ceremony, 2ndDivisionVet!
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