Most Americans feel as though the United States is the greatest nation in the world today or, for that matter, ever. While democracy has brought with it many benefits, including a Bill of Rights that clearly announces the freedoms of the people under its government, the United States has never been able to escape the power of propaganda.
The typical American believes that the vices seen in other governments, such as Afghanistan and those in the Middle East, do not exist within these United States. Propaganda, sadly but surely, exists everywhere – even in America. And those who deny its existence probably take part, unknowingly, in believing it.
This is not to say that every news flash that pops up on our TV screens is a hidden conspiracy theory that is purported by a swayed media. But it does mean that stories such as last week’s CNN report that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is negotiating to give suicide bombers $25,000 are not completely true.
That report , which is a perversion of the truth, should have read that Arafat gives $25,000 to the families of suicide bombers, an act which was not negotiated beforehand.
Should we not aid families and children of attackers who did not necessarily have a hand in carrying out attacks? The practice of not taking care of those families could be viewed as barbaric.
This is not a defense of suicide bombers – it is instead a criticism of the American public and American media outlets. On the one hand, we have a public that takes anything printed or said on TV as truth. On the other hand, we have a media that is dominated by huge conglomerates (i.e. AOL/Time Warner and Disney) who can filter out what people should hear and what they shouldn’t.
We have a right to responsible journalism, but we also have the responsibility as a public to inform ourselves through education – a practice that most Americans feel the media should do rather than themselves.
It is a sad day in America when we take our rights and responsibilities for granted while criticizing other citizens of foreign countries of the same inherent mistake.
