Learn From The Past – Our News Media Is Killing Us

by tfire

Posted to Poetry and Politics on 2004-06-24 13:17:00

Back in February of 1943 one of our troop ships, the USS Dorchester was hit by a German torpedo. Four chaplains onboard gave up their life vests to give them to troops who had none, knowing they would die as result. They were last seen on the capsized hull holding hands and praying. Over 500 troops died that day in cold Atlantic waters. The News media at the time did NOT report this. Think about that, over 500 troops died in one attack, on one day, that lasted for a very brief time, yet they didn’t report it. Why didn’t they?

Because at the time the press did not want to report casualty figures so the enemy could not know the outcome of their efforts. They didn’t want to give up that information because they knew that winning the conflict was crucial to maintaining the very freedom that allowed them to report.

This is not the case in the media today. Sadly enough the exact opposite is true. The press behaves in a way that hurts our efforts in Iraq, and puts the lives of our troops and citizens at risk.

Nick Berg was violently beheaded as a result of the over coverage of the Abu Graib news release. His murderers made it very clear that their actions were in retaliation.

Since we invaded Iraq the press shows almost nothing of the schools and hospitals we’ve opened there. They’ve shown almost nothing about people who now receive healthcare that never had it before, electricity where it never existed before, drinking water where it never flowed before, sewer lines and water treatment plants where none existed prior.

No, they reported over and over again how a handful of people put underwear on the heads of some very BAD people who were killing our troops just weeks before.

Everytime one of our troops dies the television media lets us know, regardless of the ramifications on the battlefield. They not only don’t care, they’d rather see us fail in Iraq, as long as they can provide stories that get ratings.

Take this in perspective as it relates to what happened with the USS Dorchester and those troops who perished. A few hundred more of our brave young Americans have died over the last YEAR to provide just SOME of the freedoms we have here in the U.S. to good Iraqis. But for the troops who died back in 1943, yet not a single story surfaced about it until a time when it wouldn’t hurt the efforts of our troops.

Please start looking at television news with a different eye. They are not our friends, as long as they choose popularity (ratings) over what is the RIGHT thing to do. And as long as you provide them those ratings they will have NO incentive to change the way they report.

Think critically and be outspoken. Be suspicious of the information being reported to you and understand the true motives of a media organization before you take what they hand you as the truth.