Random thoughts on the war and media

Seems that everyone has an opinion on the war by now. And very strongly too. Either you’re very pro-, or very anti-America. What if you’re neither? What if you can’t make yourself take that decision based on pictures you see on television?

I think there are really two wars going on. There is the physical, actual war in Iraq, where people from all sides are suffering the consequences of Bush’s “war against terrorism”. But there is also the war in the media. It’s a much more subtle and indistinguishable war, but still contains all the common factors known to traditional warfare. One side begins the act of war by initiating an attack on the other. Shortly after, the opposing side must retaliate, so as not to lose the faith of it’s soldiers. This action must be matched – and overruled – by the first attacker, or it will seem to have the weaker hand. And so forth.

The fact is that in today’s war, this applies also to sending out pictures, videofootage and interviews to the public. Both sides most surely speculate in which elements to release when, in order to get the most out of their propaganda. Which group of people should they attempt to influence now? The civilians? The soldiers? The people at home? The government leaders? Whichever choice they make, we – the audience – can do nothing but sit back with our hands tied up, ourselves chained to the sofa and with toothpicks between our eyelids, silently accepting the bloody truths of war that emanate from out television sets.

I find it naïve to think that one can determine the actual events and motives that are in play in that war from only watching television. There are so many aspects and details that are known only to a handful of people. And that’s the way it will always be. Short of seeing and hearing everything with your own eyes and ears, one’s information will always be incomplete. To me, that means I cannot devote myself entirely to a single cause. No event or action or situation or story can get me off my seat, because they almost continually fail to apply selfcriticism and to take into account the unreliability of the media.

Am I against war? Definitely. Am I against this war? … Well. Ask me again tomorrow.