“Led proudly by the Fox News channel, today’s media seems to have torn a page from the Vince McMahon handbook of television drama. ”
One of the greatest things about living in America is the comfort of always knowing you’re right. If your military, for example, happens to bomb a country halfway around the world and overthrow its government, there’s no doubt that it was for justifiable reasons. Entering foreign wars and cleaning house is a long practiced and deeply loved American tradition. World War II set a precedent of sorts. After standing on the sidelines for several years, the United States entered the war when it became personal to them—following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. American military efforts in defeating Japan and ending the war were so applauded that it changed the USA’s image forever. More concerning, America’s image of itself changed. From that day, it started to grow and change, eventually anointing itself the self-appointed savior of planet Earth, ready to enter foreign conflicts at a moment’s notice—serving as judge, jury and executioner. To hell with the U.N. (and if you don’t believe me—check America’s U.N. voting record).
In the beginning, maybe the desire to do good was still pure—born of a genuine need to see justice prosper worldwide. However, with each successive intrusion into foreign affairs, US intervention has become less welcomed and its image increasingly tarnished. For a time, Americans took notice and spoke out against their government’s intrusions. Vietnam continues to be a sensitive topic to this day, but at the time, it was widely criticized and protested. After 8 years of futile casualties (1965-1973), the US finally pulled out. But it would not learn its lesson.
Years passed. Society changed. An American people that were once aware and critical of their government became self-absorbed and complacent. The media, if it ever presented a fair and balanced picture of government foreign affairs, became less of an impartial observer and more of an active distributor of propaganda.
Welcome to today. Never has media been more of a freak show and less in touch with its journalistic responsibility. Led proudly by the Fox News channel, today’s media seems to have torn a page from the Vince McMahon handbook of television drama. You know the script. Think back to the WWF in its golden era. Vince would take some obvious stereotypical villains like Nikolai Volkov or The Iron Sheik, create dramatic tension via a fake interview with host “Gorilla” Monsoon, and put them in the ring with the All-American Hero like Hulk Hogan. The teleplay? Bad guy “ring music” (like the Russian national anthem) comes on but is interrupted by booing from the crowd. Bad guys insult America. Crowd boos. Hero fights bravely. Crowd cheers. Bad guys cheat. Crowd boos. Hero falls. Crowd yells. Hero pulls himself up. Crowd roars. Bad guys attack. Hero beats them to a pulp. Crowd goes ballistic. Bad guys run away. Crowd jeers, cheers, then goes ballistic as hero poses for pictures.
That simplistic but compelling good vs. evil formula has been putting butts in the seats of wrestling arenas for decades, and attracting even more fans through television. The faces keep changing with the times, but the formula is tried and true.
To his credit, Mr. McMahon has never been secretive that his product is not wrestling, but rather sports entertainment. It’s drama. For whatever reason though, the suspension of disbelief that watching WWF (now the WWE) wrestling demands has created a weakness in American society (or the mistaken belief that it IS real). In any event, Americans really believe that good and evil is as simple as black and white. If the President says it’s evil, it’s evil. If TV news says something is so, it is so. Us and them. We’re the good guys. Our way of life is the best way. It has to be—that’s why we chose it.
The reality is not so clear cut. If you’ve lived long enough to watch international relationships change, or if you’ve read the facts (in books, and borne out in the government’s own documents), you should understand that good and evil is merely a label bandied about by politicians to justify how they relate to others. Noriega, Hussein and bin Laden were all friends of the US before they became enemies. For most foreign leaders, the guiding criteria in defining them as good or evil is not how they run their countries or how they treat their own people, but whether or not they are willing to do the bidding of the United States. Those willing to fall in line, back U.S. interests, do American dirty work, and allow the States to rape and pillage their country’s resources for America’s benefit are (not surprisingly) good. Is this exaggeration? Hyperbole? Not at all.
For example, bin Laden was America’s golden boy in 1980. He and his armies were able to do what America couldn’t—drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan. So long as he did America’s laundry, he was lauded. But when he decided he did not want to remain in eternal servitude of the United States… well, you can guess what happened.
Does this justify terrorist acts? Of course not. But consider the fact that Americans kill (and will continue to kill) thousands more than ever died in the WTC disaster, and not a tear is shed for them, let alone a minute’s worth of coverage on US news. And think how you might react under the same circumstances. Tell me that if a foreign power occupied American soil, that you wouldn’t take your gun into the streets and kill every last one of them you could.
You can’t, can you?
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