That man in the white house used his Veteran’s Day speech to yet again suggest that those bold enough to question his unilaterally-imposed foreign policy are aiding the enemy (happy birthday, G!):
While it’s perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began. (Applause.) Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war….
The stakes in the global war on terror are too high, and the national interest is too important, for politicians to throw out false charges. (Applause.) These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America’s will. As our troops fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life, they deserve to know that their elected leaders who voted to send them to war continue to stand behind them. (Applause.) Our troops deserve to know that this support will remain firm when the going gets tough. (Applause.) And our troops deserve to know that whatever our differences in Washington, our will is strong, our nation is united, and we will settle for nothing less than victory. (Applause.)
There is plenty about that quote and the speech in general with which an informed observer of any news more involved than Fox sound-bites might choose to quibble, but that’s not my purpose today. This administration has often made the democracy-averse implication that questioning their policy is somehow un-american, contrary to some unquestionable objective, or an aid to our real or purported enemies.
I saw Good Night, and Good Luck last night. It was generally a very good film about Edward R. Murrow‘s rhetorical struggle against McCarthyism. The parallels to our current situation – especially as highlighted by Mr. Bush’s comments today – are striking and chilling.
Most troubling of all, I thought, was that the movie showed a 1950’s U.S. that was much better equipped to resist – at least in the media – the dangerous ideology of McCarthy and his ilk than we are today to struggle with the neo-con worldview. The closest our mainstream media comes consistently and intelligently noting the emperor’s lack of clothing has to hide as comedy!
Of course, the intarweb provides a critical counterbalance, but at best, its current incarnation lets a small single-digit percentage of relatively like-minded folks stay in touch and informed. I can’t imagine the horrors of our current state without it — we’d certainly have already completed the transition to Oceania. But still, there is no way the net is (yet?) equivalent to broadcast TV in its ability to counter the prevailing message – look no further than last year’s election for proof.
The scene in the movie which shows Murrow and producer Fred Friendly agreeing to pay for the sponsor’s ads during their McCarthy-focused episode is described in further detail in the wikipedia entry:
Murrow and his See It Now co-producer, Fred Friendly, paid for their own newspaper advertisement for the program; they were not allowed to use CBS’ money for the publicity campaign or even use the CBS logo. Nonetheless, this 30-minute TV episode contributed to a nationwide backlash against McCarthy and against the Red Scare in general, and it is seen as a turning point in the history of television.
The broadcast provoked tens of thousands of letters, telegrams and phone calls to CBS headquarters, running 10 to 1 in favor of Murrow. In a Murrow retrospective produced by CBS for the A&E Network series Biography, Friendly noted how truck drivers pulled up to Murrow on the street in subsequent days and shouted “Good show, Ed. Good show, Ed.”
Can you imagine this happening now? I’m reminded, in the opposite extreme, of the part of The Corporation which profiles the Florida journalists who were driven out of their jobs for accurate, documented reporting on rBGH dangers, or of any of countless stories told in Outfoxed.
It certainly isn’t news that our watchdogs have swallowed a sedative of historic magnitude and impact. It’s terrifying, none the less. Murrow was prescient with regard to the overall trajectory TV was/is on as a media force, as well. From his 1958 speed to the Radio and Television News Directors Association:
We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.
Imagine what Mr. Murrow might have said about “Who’s Your Daddy?” or “The Simple Life”.
Good luck, indeed.
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