Censoring the Dead (a little long)

[cynatnite]

Whenever I see old footage from the Vietnam War there is inevitably images of the dead and injured. There was no censorship of coffins coming home or innocent civilians caught up in the horrors of war. Think for a moment. Would the Vietnam War have ended differently if the images had been censored?

My understanding of those times was that the American public was being told one thing while they watched the news of the uncensored horrors of war. Public opinion was bound to work against them.

We are now seeing public opinion dwindling for the support of the Iraq War. The talking points of the administration and the pentagon aren’t being bought by the public any longer. Rather than demanding our troops being brought home a timetable for doing so is being demanded by more and more.

The demand for immediate withdrawal will not happen anytime soon and this administration will put off giving a date for as long as possible. They’ve got time and they are in no hurry to do so. The public’s desire to know there is an end is what Bush and his spinners are going to give, but it will be just another line to appease the masses. They’re good at it.

Our troops were supposed to be welcomed with flowers and cheers. The war would pay for itself by way of oil revenues. The hunt for WMD would take time. Yes, the public bought it all…hook, line and sinker. What’s another lie to delay the realization that there will be an inevitable permanent military presence?

What I’m getting at here is that the public will not force the administration to change its policy. The reason being is that majority of the American people don’t have the kind of emotional stake in this war the way they did in Vietnam. They are not seeing the war dead and they are not seeing the catastrophic effects of this obscenity on the innocent population of Iraq.

What it does is it distances them to a point that it’s a faraway story which has no impact on them. When we turn on the news we see distant explosions and a few covered bodies. Who they are…the viewer doesn’t know. The report will lead them to believe that it is a terrorist. Is it? Or is it an innocent caught in the crossfire?

Several months ago the public did see a few glimpses of flag draped coffins during transit. How many Americans have come home in the same way since then? Why aren’t we seeing those?

Death has a much stronger impact than life. It’s a sad state of society, but it is true. Seeing death can drastically change opinion and voice. The horrors of war being expressed visually can have a profound impact to such a degree that it is possible to force those in power to bend to the will of the people.

The corporate media’s self-censorship of such images has shaped public opinion and the lack of it. If you think about it this tells you their lack of adequate coverage for this war makes them complicit and way past their claim of ‘informing’ the public.

By shielding the American people of images of truth from war the media has in fact made this war drag on much longer and helped bolster the Bush administration. Their complicity goes further when the dead are used to hammer at those who dissent from the Republican talking points. The dead become propaganda to encourage and reinforce the false claims of going to war. When those who point to the horrors of war and the lies that leads to it they are accused of dishonoring those who died.

The Bush administration has blindly believed since the idea of going to war came about that they would need to control this story. They used everything in their arsenal to do so from flushing out possible dissenters in the CIA to the changing of the guard at the State Dept. They have a policy of punishing reporters and media outlets who don’t report what they’re told. They have bought commentators to spew their talking points and in one instance planted a so-called reporter to continue to spread their propaganda. Those who say what the administration wants them to say are blessed with perks such as privileged access and valuable interviews.

Even through the scandals of Abu Ghraib, Halliburton and many other abuses by the Bush administration and their friends, they’ve managed to control the story. There were times they almost lost their grip, but still managed to hang on.

It seems to me that’s been the key of the entire Bush Administration. Controlling the story (no matter which one it is). Nothing lasts forever. This certainly won’t.

I take heart in knowing that with the advent of the blogs their control is slowly slipping away day by day. The pressure is building and at some point the control they cherish so much will slip through their fingers. It’s inevitable.

[knowbody0]

1. three days of the reality photos

documenting the carnage and destruction would turn our nation around, the rest of the Abu Ghraib photos are to be turned over by the end of this month.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Because of that emotional link

some of us have come to the conclusion that the warn and happy masses will not turn to ACTIVE oposition until we have a Universal Draft

By the way, this is WW II, so they say, so I tell the adminiatration, put up or shut up... if this is WW II, then spread the suffering from Military Families to the rest of the population