So, this is happening today, and I'm listening to Madeline Brand's radio show "Press Play" on KCRW, and she has just asked her audience to weigh in on this issue on the show's Facebook page. And of course I think of Neil Postman.
Because I think like most Americans, I am sick of our involvement in war in the Middle East. This has been and continues to be an enormous black hole that sucks our nation's financial health into its deep black maw, and to little effect. When you look at the hundreds of billions of dollars, and the results gained, I don't think anyone could argue it's been a good investment. And I'm just talking about money. When I think of all the lives lost, I want to throw up.
But do I want to protect American lives in Iraq? Of course I do. Iraqi lives? Yes. Do I want to help starving children? No question.
So I actually don't know how to feel about this. It is messing me up. I'm upset. And as Postman points out most poignantly, there is absolutely nothing I can do with this. I could comment on a radio show's Facebook page, but why on earth would I do that? What will it gain? So I just am walking around today with an upset stomach, worrying about this. And why? What can I do about it? Postman even asks, "what do you intend to do about the situation in the Middle East?", indicating that problems in this area of the world are ancient, and while you can argue we have interests in that region (besides oil, I mean), our interventions have yielded little. All those peace summits between Israel and Palestine over the years, and where are we?
So, this is why people go numb. This is why entertainment media exists. People don't want to walk around all messed up inside over something that they are powerless to change.
[REVISED 8/9/14]
Thank you. This is so spot on, I just want to give you a high five. My family, being Palestinian, is obviously upset over what's going on in Palestine at the moment. However, my mom and sisters seem to think that watching endless Facebook videos of children being bombed in Gaza shows that they care or something. My dad, older sister Yasmin, and I are different. I'm done with my relatives showing me pictures and videos and telling me to go like certain Facebook pages that support Gaza, but I do it anyway. I sit through the videos and go to their protests and listen to their speeches because it's expected of me. Every time I object to watching the news about Gaza or stay at home instead of going to a protest, my mom automatically accuses me of not caring. "Not all people have lives like yours, Lina. Children are being shot down when they go out to play, and you don't even care." Of course I care. How can I not when so many innocent people are dying every day? And you're right. They don't go to protests because they care more than I do. They do it because it makes them feel like they're helping, like they're doing something. But they're not. No matter how many Facebook pages they like, that's not going to be what stops this war. Money, land, power... that's what's going to stop this war. I am one of those people walking around "all messed up inside" because I accept the fact that beyond donating money, food, and clothes, we are powerless. I'm not being apathetic, I'm being real. So, I definitely agree with you in this case and thank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteOmg Linaeeverything you just said is exactly what i believe. I get that news shows, radio talk shows and all that stuff are supposed to be informative and made so we can understand whats going on in the world, but i personally do not like watching the news and listening about tragedies. Why? Because it's depressing. It's depressing knowing that there are millions of innocent lives being taken away because of irresponsible, immature people. What good does watching the news do? Remind us that we are powerless? No chnage will come out of spending an hour on the couch watching the news and occasionally thinking "what a shame" and "how sad". It will not stop whats happening. And what people don't seem to understand is that just because i refuse to watch depressing videos and watch the news every time it's on, it does not mean i don't care. It simply means it hurts too much to hear about innocent lives i couldn't save.
DeleteHey Maria! I agree with you and I also have one other problem with the news: it's biased. My family watches local news to keep us informed on what's going on in our daily lives, and that's fine, but once news stories about Israel/ Gaza start, they change the channel. "It's biased. They're just going to talk about Israel and our tax money being used to pay them." So instead, my parents watch news channels from other countries to find out what's happening in Gaza, but they're also biased! They only show what's going on in Gaza and they talk about how wrong Israel is. In this case, however, my family doesn't seem to see it as "biased". My journalism teacher once told the class, "There's three sides to every story: his side, her side, and the truth." I just can't see the third side no matter where I look, and my family doesn't seem to want to see the truth. They want to see Israel as the bad guys and the Palestinians as people who can do no wrong. Both sides are at fault in this situation, but if there's one thing I've learned out of all of this, it's that people only see what they want to see, and the news makes it so much easier.
DeleteI've noticed that too! Its very irritating to see people aren't willing to own up to their own fault because they're afraid of looking bad. It kind of reminds me of the Holocaust and how now Germans are denying it ever happened. It also sucks to see how our country or every country is so worried and caught up on money that they do such horrific crimes and then the try to justify their actions by making the other group seem like the one to blame. It's all very irritating.
DeleteMaria, you're using a pretty broad brush when you say "and now Germans are denying it ever happened." Please be careful with statements like that.
DeleteYou're right. My choice of words implies all Germans are like that and that's not true. My bad.
DeleteLina, your family is heavy on my mind when I read the news about Gaza.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I spent my 20s -- before my daughter was born, and when she was tiny enough to carry along with me -- as a feminist peace activist. The work of protest has to go forward, and people need a sense that their voice matters. But at a certain point, I realized that I had a sphere of influence, and I should work within that sphere, and leave the big organized world of social protest. The progression for me was like this: first I tried to save the world by using my voice and energy in organized movements; next, I tried to save the world by creating a good home and raising a healthy, smart daughter. Now I am working to save the world by helping kids access and leverage their own strong voices.
Postman writes that the vote is such a small, unsatisfying way to voice our frustration and discontent. I agree. We cast a ballot every two years -- so important, and yet it feels like nothing. Writing a check, organizing clothing drives -- all of it matters, but mostly it feels like trying to bail out the ocean with a teaspoon.
Hey Mrs. Fletcher! You're right, of course. There are just so many problems in the world right now that a $500 donation for food and a few bags of clothes can't solve. But it makes us feel better about ourselves because we can't do anything else since we're 8,000 miles away. Maybe even if we weren't so far away, we still wouldn't be able to do much. I like the way you mentioned helping save the world by teaching because it starts with the younger generations. We're so influenced by our parents views that i's hard to express our own. We need to learn to accept people and form our own judgements, not just go along with the crowd.
DeleteTo your post, Ms. Fletcher, YES, all around. Of course with all the media going around, it's hard to understand what exactly the media wants us to think. Are they trying to shove the war and it's conflicts in our faces or are they trying to use entertainment to cover it up? Often the line between awareness and concealment is almost imperceptible when it comes to media and the war. I can't often tell when I should be sad, inquiring, or just plain angry about this conflict. This is simply another example of how perfectly good the media is at influencing our thought process and our personal view on subjects, such as the controversy about the conflict in Iraq.
ReplyDeleteI agree with every point you make with this post, Ms. Fletcher. The news talks so much about the controversy in the Middle East even though there is hardly anything we can do about it! It really irritates me because this war was not our country's war to fight in the first place yet there they are. All we're doing is spending spending spending more and more money all for what? The war is still going on and too many lives are being lost. I keep our soldiers and the innocent lives in the Middle East in my prayers.
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ReplyDeleteToday a video was posted on youtube of a 40 year old freelance journalist named James Foley being beheaded. The culprits were ISIS militants who beheaded Mr. Foley in response to these air strikes. For those of you who do not know what ISIS stands for it is The Islamic state of Iraq and Syria. They are responsible for the civil war in Syria and the unrest in Iraq as they are trying to form an independent Islamic state consisting of land from Iraq and Syria. The video was taken down in thirty minutes and only screenshots exist now. It was pretty gruesome and I do not know if I should consider myself lucky for seeing it. I just want this war to stop! It is awful seeing and hearing about fellow Americans dying for no good reason.
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