Remarks to the Speak-In
Teach-Out on Oct 28, 2002 -- www.PeaceAware.com
by Kenneth
W. Mentor J.D., Ph.D.
Department
of Criminal Justice
New Mexico
State University
Good Afternoon.
George Bush expects us to
support a war that he claims will prevent Saddam Hussein from using weapons of
mass destruction. Bush wants this war so bad that he will lie to convince us
that Saddam has these weapons and is capable of delivering them to our shores.
There is little doubt that
Saddam is a deranged ruler that will stop at nothing to remain in power.
However, he is not suicidal. He has not used weapons against us because he knows
that our retaliation would certainly result in his removal from power. In
effect, our power has served as a deterrent. Once his grasp on power is taken
from him, as Bush suggests we do, all bets are off. Our deterrence pressure is
lost.
Bush expects us to support
his efforts to topple Saddam’s regime. Why would the American public support
such a crazy idea? Even the CIA argues that Saddam will use biological and
chemical weapons only if his back is against the wall.
Bush is instigating a war
that is likely to trigger the use of chemical and biological weapons.
It is crazy to fight a war
that will lead to the very events it is supposed to prevent.
Again - Why would the
American public support such a crazy idea?
Over the last two years we
have been expected to buy into a bunch of crazy ideas. And for the most part, we
have done so. I am not going to list these crazy ideas. However, I will remind
you of crazy idea #1 - George Bush is the legitimate president. Why do we allow
this lie to continue?
I also remind you of the
crazy idea that justifies an invasion of Iraq. This is the idea that the United
States will engage in a unilateral first-strike to prevent an event that the
administration believes may occur in the future. Why would we allow such an
extreme departure from decades of foreign policy?
Why does the American
public buy into these crazy ideas? Why do these ideas remain largely
unchallenged? Of course, for many of us, the truth is clear and we do not
endorse these ideas. We do this at the risk of being called unpatriotic,
socialist, communist, or worse.
The truth is that many of
us (the media says most of us) seem to buy into these crazy ideas.
The mainstream media plays
a major role in the governments’ efforts to “sell” certain ideas. How and
why do they do this? Here are a few points that illustrate the problem.
Point
1 - War is Imminent: The prevailing
view found in mainstream media is that a war with Iraq is imminent.
For example, MSNBC airs a nightly program called “Countdown to Iraq.”
Why is the title a statement rather than a question? Many of us believe there is
still a chance to stop this war and that is why we are here today.
Point
2 - No Dissent: The mainstream media
hides dissent. Over 100K protesters were in Washington this past Saturday. Over
75K protested in San Francisco. Similar protests took place all over the world.
If the mainstream media reports these protests at all, they will surely
underestimate the number of protesters. Their reports also fail to provide
information that would be helpful in understanding the positions of the
protesters. The media seems to believe that it is sufficient to say that some
people disagree with the president – and of course, this is unpatriotic and
un-American.
Point
3 - War Sells: Ratings for CNN,
MSNBC, and network news programs are never higher than for war and similar
events. Never forget that media is in the business of selling. Unfortunately,
advertisers that do not flinch at being associated with war footage do not want
to be associated with something as unpatriotic as protest.
Point
4 - Tunnel Vision: News events take
on a life of their own. We saw this over the last few weeks as the media became
obsessed with the sniper. Now the sniper has been caught so we can now go back
to “normal.” The media does not question the fact that “normal” is a
situation in which dozens of people are killed by guns every day.
Point
5 - War is Clean: Talk about crazy
ideas! Many of us remember Vietnam. War is not clean. However, the media amazes
and entertains us with “smart bombs” that surgically remove the enemy with a
minimum of “collateral damage.” The media has failed to inform us that
current war plans involve a massive invasion of Iraq. Up to 500,000 soldiers are
expected to invade Baghdad, seize control, and chase the enemy to the borders
and beyond. How many body bags will result? Why isn’t this question being
asked?
Point
6 - Some Humans are Worth More than
Others: We know that many deaths will occur. We might even blow up a wedding, as
we did in Afghanistan. But these are not Americans so it really doesn’t
matter. How will we react when the body bags contain American soldiers?
Point
7 - American Soldiers are Safe: The
government and mainstream media would have us believe that the biggest risk to
our soldiers is “friendly fire.” In contrast, international news sources
reported Afghanistan incidents that resulted in the death of 30 or more American
soldiers. Did these events not occur, or did the mainstream media hide the
facts?
Point
8 - Saddam = Iraq: The government and
mainstream media has focused on one man, Saddam Hussein. The mainstream media
largely ignores the other 22 million Iraqis, many of whom are starving to death
as a result of our efforts to stop one man. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have
died as a result of our embargo. Amazingly, our government believes that the
Iraqis will rise in support of our efforts once we topple Saddam. Another crazy
idea.
What
Do We Do about this Bias?
One solution, on an
individual level at least, is to seek out alternative media. And you will need
to look for it. Alternative media will not be delivered to your house in the
morning paper and will not be displayed on your television. Mainstream media is
“pushed” to the public every minute. Alternative views are heard and read
only when someone takes the initiative to find alternate news and views.
I encourage each of you to
take a few minutes every day, how about taking as much time as it takes to read
the newspaper, and seek alternative views. The balance is out there. You just
have to take the time to find it.
I hope you will also take
the time to encourage the media to seek more balance in its coverage of world
events. George Bush spoke in Alamogordo this morning. The media will remind us
that this is his second visit to Southern New Mexico in the last few weeks. Will
the media also remind us that the reason he is here is because he is desperate
to retain a Republican majority in Congress?
Will the local media cover
this teach-in with the same dedication and resources they give to Bush’s
visit? Will the Sun-News see our efforts as another opportunity to call
protesters ignorant, ill-informed, and naïve?
Speak out against
mainstream media bias. Several organizations will help you do this and it works.
For example, the Washington Post recently suggested that Bush would have won the
election if a recount had been allowed. As we know, this is not true. A letter
and phone campaign forced the Post to retract their statement and issue a
correction.
Efforts to keep the media
honest have the potential to change the media. The conservatives clearly agree.
For example, Tom Brokaw is currently the target of a conservative letter writing
campaign. His crime – mentioning that the sniper’s rifle was a
“Bushmaster” and that the manufacturer of the rifle was a large contributor
to the Bush campaign. Now this happens to be true, but this is not the type of
news the gun lobby wants to hear.
I teach several policy
related courses here at NMSU. I ask my students to think through policy choices
and try to imagine the eventual consequences of a particular policy choice. I
believe we are smart enough to think through a problem and make some predictions
about the end result of our choices.
I even give the government
credit for being able to think through a problem in such a manner.
Unfortunately, there is no indication that this administration is willing to act
in ways that benefit all people. They fully realize the negative impacts of
their policies, and examine who will gain and lose, before acting in ways that
benefit certain interests. The people pulling Bush’s strings are frighteningly
good at what they do.
I encourage you to look
through the websites listed in the Teach-In website. Seek out alternative
sources for information, news, and viewpoints. Do not assume that the mainstream
media, or the government, will provide an accurate and truthful picture. Often
they are trying to convince you to buy into crazy ideas.
When given all the
information, you are smart enough to know the truth. But do not expect to be
given this information. You will have to find it. After reviewing alternative
sources for information you will find that you are becoming a more critical, and
intelligent, consumer of mainstream media. Seek the truth and act on your
convictions.
Remember that our nation
was founded by patriots who questioned their government. Today, as always,
thoughtful Americans must be willing to seek truth, and openly speak truth to
power. I encourage each of you to join me in doing so.
See
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