Sunday, August 07, 2005

Unbelievable!

Little Green Footballs illustrates the completely irrational thinking of the Mainstream Media in regards to the war in Iraq.

ONE soldier fought off scores of elite Iraqi troops in a fierce defense of his outnumbered Army unit, saving dozens of American lives before he himself was killed. Another soldier helped lead a team that killed 27 insurgents who had ambushed her convoy. And then there was the marine who, after being shot, managed to tuck an enemy grenade under his stomach to save the men in his unit, dying in the process.

Their names are Sgt. First Class Paul R. Smith, Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester and Sgt. Rafael Peralta. If you have never heard of them, even in a week when more than 20 marines were killed in Iraq by insurgents, that might be because the military, the White House and the culture at large have not publicized their actions with the zeal that was lavished on the heroes of World War I and World War II.


RAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! My head is exploding. The New York Times obviously doesn't recieve Military.com's newsletter...or Chrenkof's Good News From Iraq...or the Military's own press releases...or the White House's press releases. The big factor in people not hearing anything of these heroes is because the *MAINSTREAM* media doesn't talk about them. These people gave their lives in service of our country, and they are only mentioned as another casualty of war that is forever being spun (by the media) as the new Vietnam. I want to know why we haven't seen the big bold headlines on newspaper stands...stuff like:

MARINES ROLL ON FALLUJAH!

US FORCES TAKE BAGHDAD

TERRORIST BOMBS STOPPED

COALITION VICTORY

SADDAM'S FORCES SURRENDER

TERRORIST STRONGHOLD CRUSHED


Instead we are constantly given a tally of the day's dead and, more recently, a tone of supporting the enemy.

As for our culture...oh, please. Our entire country was borne of the will of the "Rugged Individualist." People who fight for what they believe are remembered(Remember the Alamo!)...even if it's not the right way (remember John Brown, anyone?). People like Pvt. Rodger Young (who died saving his unit from a Japanese ambush during WW2) are forever remembered. Movies are made where the hero dies to save his family/friends/world. No, our culture idolizes those who have proven themselves in extreme situations. Only the academics question them.

Not only does LGF give an example of this bias, but there's a nice one on CNN.com, too (no stories on the mothers/spouses that support the war or those who have committed acts of heroism...but a story of an anti-war mom graces the front page). Even further, the Merry Mad Monk demonstrates another example. The media is not spotlighting the stories of heroism that have come out of war...instead they focus on casualties. We are at war. There will be casualties; this is a sad fact of war. But to ignore these acts by people who have been or are serving our country and then try to place blame on the military and the White House is among the stupidest things I can think of. Oh, and remeber that the media isn't biased. Please, get a freaking clue.

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