Media deception

Wisdom of the week

[Reprinted from Issues & Views September 17, 2001]

In all probability nothing will change on the political front, and the American media's Mickey Mouse version of the roots of the problems in the Middle East will prevail. Here are some words that cut through the fog of deceit from the pen of syndicated columnist Norman Solomon, whose voice, like that of Israeli journalist Israel Shamir, is muted in the mainstream media.

We stare at TV screens and try to comprehend the suffering in the aftermath of terrorism. Much of what we see is ghastly and all too real; terrible anguish and sorrow. At the same time, we're witnessing an onslaught of media deception. "The greatest triumphs of propaganda have been accomplished, not by doing something, but by refraining from doing," Aldous Huxley observed long ago. "Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth."

Media scrutiny of atrocities committed by the U.S. government is rare. Only some cruelties merit the spotlight. Only some victims deserve empathy. Only certain crimes against humanity are worth our tears. Today, the victims of terrorism in America deserve our deep compassion. So do the faraway victims of America--human beings whose humanity has gone unrecognized by U.S. media.

Underlying that lack of recognition is a nationalistic arrogance shared by press and state. Few eyebrows went up when Time magazine declared in its Sept. 10 edition: "The U.S. is at one of those fortunate--and rare--moments in history when it can shape the world." That attitude can only bring us a succession of disasters.

-- Excerpt from "Terrorism, Television and the Rage for Vengeance," by Norman Solomon (Creators Syndicate)

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