Never before in U.S. history have the American people held its military in such (unrealistic) esteem. Possibly, it is partially due to false images portrayed by the for-profit 24/7 cable-news organizations; possibly, it is partially due to the general American public’s lack of experience, and knowledge — i.e., we’ve lost our grip on reality.
Historically, even to the Founding Fathers, the U.S. military was always a citizen-soldier force. The draft, with all of its faults and flaws, ensured that the nation’s public military service was as egalitarian and fair as possible. With the all-volunteer force the U.S. military became a pay-for-performance mercenary business. Primarily motivated by financial gain, and staffed increasingly by contractors, young men and women volunteered, while the vast majority of young Americans simply turned away, walked away, to live their lives as though U.S. military’s problems did not exist. There is no shared burden.
At the same time, beginning with Vietnam, escalating with journalists in the field, broadcast television put war and warriors directly in the face of the American public. As 24/7 cable news grew, along with its need for profits, and as embedded journalists became the norm, Americans developed an insatiable thirst, a perverted need to know everything, to know it all, to know it all immediately, without any sense of objectivity or common-sense. From the first Gulf War, through Iraq, to Afghanistan, America has developed a perverse habit (like a drug addict) demanding to know it all.
In our addictive need for immediacy and to be connected 24/7, Americans (politicians included it seems, as each side now parses talking points to their own partisan advantage), have lost their ability to remember our past mistakes and to learn from history. We seem unable to comprehend anything but “now” and the next news cycle. Every scandal and crisis of the day becomes fodder for talking heads on 24/7 cable-news, without any sense of objectivity or context.
So when an American general fell from his pedestal, the media pounced on the story of the day — complicated facts and reality be damned — on the one side, inflating his persona and his life, and on the other, castigating everyone and everything around him.
The fact and reality is that the U.S. military, FBI, CIA and State Department are doing the best they can, under extremely difficult conditions (which most Americans cannot begin to understand, because they have never served in those positions) in responding to an unrealistic demanding public for immediate news — a public who, in fact, has no right to know every detail of what’s going on. They can always do better, but not because MSNBC or FOX News says so. And we’ll never know the real truth, from the media, anyway.
America should demand better of itself and must stop pandering to the lame-stream media. The reality is: We’re being played.
John Latson
Mesa
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Masterrogue666 posted at 9:35 pm on Sun, Nov 25, 2012.
I'm sure all News stations, et al are guilty of sensationalism at one time or another.
Engaged Voter posted at 10:43 am on Wed, Nov 21, 2012.
"The draft, with all of its faults and flaws, ensured that the nation’s public military service was as egalitarian and fair as possible."
Except for the wealthy, religious, or those with political ties.
But I'm sure Romney would agree that it's fair!
Dale Whiting posted at 4:04 am on Wed, Nov 21, 2012.
John,
You are right! Where once the news media was driven by Cronkite's "And that's the way it is," now they compete for viewers catering to what their target audience wants to hear. On Fox, I watch Shepard Smith. But recently even Shep has shown signs of swalling the Fox line. Morning Joe does display some balance between Joe and Mika. Other MSNBC shows have conservatives as guests and even regular commentators, but over all it is more liberal than conservative. I like Elliot Spitzer on Al Gore's channel. Elliot is the closest to Cronkite that I've heard in years.
The Petraeus fiasco has shown is bias in media and in congress. Will McCain ever get a brain? Compared to McCain, Petraeus is a saint!
Arizona Willie posted at 9:59 am on Tue, Nov 20, 2012.
Bluepoet, in years past when we went to war we had an Income Tax Surcharge to help pay for the war. Usually it created a fair sized deficit anyway but it was paid off in a couple of years and then the surcharge was dropped.
But Bush the Lesser didn't want to increase taxes on his wealthy friends so they decided to BORROW AND SPEND and thus rack up a debt someone else would have to pay.
Those Congressmen who have signed the Norquist pledge should be charged with dereliction of duty because the Oath to Norquist violates the Oath of Office they take when they are sworn in as Congressmen.
Norquist himself should be arrested and charged with bribery and extortion. I am amazed that didn't happen long ago when he first started forcing Congressmen to sign his pledge.
He tells Congressmen that if they don't sign him pledge ( and keep it ) he will finance their opponent in their next election instead of financing their campaign. And HE HAS DONE IT. That is bribery and extortion. Plain and simple.
Bluepoet posted at 9:43 am on Tue, Nov 20, 2012.
The volunteer military has had this effect of isolation attached to it. We are at war, but we also no longer have an attention span, as a nation. That is where the media fails, in its intended aspiration. But then, the media exists merely as an advertisment conduit, and always has...
If we had to sacrifice, in the form of taxes, or a draft of service, perhaps we would be more "selective" about our wars, but I doubt it. We have made these wars about ideology, and national security, thus ensuring that people who are very, very rich, continue to profit from the blood and tears of others.
There is no draft, because it currently pays better to keep the populace as consumers. When the economics begin to fail, on the consumer side, the military spending will resume, and profits will reach equilibrium. If the military spending isn't enough to jump start the economy, then the draft will come back, to employ and "thin the herd" of population (in the form of poor young people's lives).
Is this too clinical of an observation? Yes, it is...but, what's even more chilling is, this is how things are done, and such plans are sitting on a desk somewhere, being honed, at regular intervals.
This is the synopsis of the real political handbook of countries--and we, as a nation, have the First Edition, signed copy. It is really the only explanation for why we would be waging war in countries that have known little else, for centuries. There is no mission to be accomplished, because there is no clear objecive to the mission!
truth posted at 3:02 pm on Mon, Nov 19, 2012.
America's war in Afghanistan has consumed close to $500 billion and cost more than 2,000 Americans lives. By December 2014, the last American combat troops are scheduled to leave the country.
The newspapers and the TV news channels are bought and paid for by corporations and they report what corporate dollars want you to hear. Have you ever heard a TV news channel informing their listeners that the Keystone Pipe line is going to a Saudi Arabia Refinery in Texas and then to a port for shipping to Asia's market. and that this pipe line would put one of our major aquifer at great risk. Natural gas, the oil companies are spending $69 billion for lequefied plants so the oil companies can also exported natural gas. Every night the oil spokesperson talks about energy independence, what a lie. LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE
Arizona Willie posted at 2:09 pm on Mon, Nov 19, 2012.
chatmandu --- not all news organizations are news organizations.[sad]
As I understand it, Fox News is actually incorporated as an entertainment company and that is why it was able to win the right to lie when it went to court.
Since it is NOT a news organization they said they were allowed to say anything they wanted.
Rush could sit there and declare that Obama was molesting little boys on the White House steps and nothing could be done because it was the show was just entertainment -- not news regardless of how they title it.
chatmandu002 posted at 9:28 am on Mon, Nov 19, 2012.
John,
We are in TV/Cable news overload. The cable/MSM news companies are money making endeavors. They make no money it they don't report any news. The Constitution guarantees us a free press but not necessarily a fair or unbiased press. As a free people we are the ones responsible to find the truth though our own biased colored eye.
bubba posted at 7:05 am on Mon, Nov 19, 2012.
John Latson
Very well put. For a more unbias veiw of world events the BBC seems to deliver a more accurate report than MSNBC or FOX, or any of the other Corperate owned news reports.