http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0818-20.htm> Published on Thursday, August 18, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
> A Simple Question and the Power of Shame
> by Steven Laffoley
>
> For nearly two weeks, sitting on a roadside, in the heat of the Texas sun, amid a growing, raucous circus of supporters, detractors, and media mouthpieces, bereaved mother Cindy Sheehan has done something many thought not possible in America anymore: she has reminded us of shame.
>
> She has done this by asking a simple question: why did my son have to die? And by asking that question, she has revealed something that has come as a surprise to many Americans: the president has no morally defensible answer.
>
> As a consequence, many Americans who have long believed President Bush's chest thumping and bible thumping to be moral character and moral righteousness can only stare with something close to wide-eyed wonder and genuine humility at the real thing.
>
> How do I know Ms. Sheehan's moral character and moral righteousness are the "real thing"?.........