Aim Higher
I recieved an email this weekend.
Its a photo of a US Servicement holding a little Iraqi girl.
The caption accompanying the photo was oh so very telling
"Why isn't this all over the news? If he had done something wrong, it surely would be!"
Unfortunately, the discourse over the war has been reduced to swapping emotional images and lamenting the PR battle. It saddens me, because it shows how far we have fallen from grace.
To answer the emailer's question, it is not all over the newspapers because its not news. The good guys are supposed to do things like this. Its only news when the bad guys do this.
The good work of a US Military officer, a small kindness in a war zone -- thats what is expected of us. We are Americans, and in case you forgot, we are the GOOD guys. We are expected to do good deeds -- it is who we are.
We saved the world from anarchy in the early parts of the last century, from Fascism in the middle of the century, from Communism later in the Century.
The United States has time and again saved the world from evil -- and yet never before have any of us complained about the "PR" of our actions Our list of global accomplishments and good deeds goes on and on. There was a concern for the results, not media imagery. This is a subtle but important point.
Can you imagine partisans whining that US Servicemen had freed the camp victims at Auschwitz -- but there wasn't enough coverage, it wasn't front page news? That rebuilding of Germany and Japan after WWII wasn't getting enough airplay? The foodlifts to Africa, the inventions of life saving medicines, the racing to comfort earthquake victims, tsunami survivors, disasters anywhere on the planet neneded to be exploited further? Back then did anyone cry "Hey, where's our credit?!"
Absolutely not -- you shut your mouth and you got the job done. The results mattered more than the image.
That was a different era. We had leaders of great intellect, courage, and judgement. They surrounded themselves with the best and the brightest. They purposefully kept aides around them who challenged their views, thought strategically, mapped out all possible consequences, believed in Science. They were pragmatic, not idealogues; they were experienced experts, not partisans.
Too many people have lowered their standards to a point that is absurd. Hey, everyone, we repainted a school in Baghdad!
Talk about the soft prejudice of low expectations. Is that what our measure of greatness has become?
I regularly appreciate all of the great deeds done by US Servicemen, working with insufficient equipment under a great hardship. We've donated old cell phones to servicemen, participated in raising money for armor. Do not misinterpret this as anything but supportive of the troops in harm's way.
But recognize who we are talking about: These are the US Marines, the greatest fighting unit in the history of mankind! These are Air Force officers, flying the most sophisticated and powerful weaponry know to the planet. US Army personnel, Navy sailors -- these aren't just any military -- these people make up the Armed Forces of the United States of America! Does the emailer complaining about the lack of media coverage understand the history of these institutions, what they have accomplished over the past 2 centuries? I think he does not. Because if he did, he would not be as concerned about a single gentle kindness, about the imagery, about the PR, rather than the actual war itself.
The Marines understand war and their obligations within a conflict; that's why Semper Fi -- Always Faithful -- is their philosophy. The Air Force says "Aim Higher" -- because their philosophy is to achieve greater and greater results, as opposed to media spin.
No, my dear emailer, you have forgotten who we are and what we are all about. A good deed by a US serviceman is what WE DO ANYWAY. In case you didn't know, we are the GOOD GUYS. If this not being in a newspaper is what upsets you, than you NO LONGER GET IT. This is what the United States is all about. This is what is expected of us. This is the standard we aspire to. This is who we are.
Follow the advice of the Armed Services. Worry less about the PR, and more about what really matters. "Aim Higher."
Monday, February 19, 2007 | 08:34 AM | Permalink
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Yes, our troops are the good guys. Our politicians who sent them to this mess, well.....
Posted by: Mike M | Feb 19, 2007 8:58:05 AM
See also this unexpected story about a Duke lacrosse player...
http://www.suntimes.com/news/laney/262737,CST-EDT-LANEY19.article
Posted by: George | Feb 19, 2007 9:21:22 AM
Of course cynical old me, wonders if this was posed for propaganda. American service men in Iraq are killing and raping the Iraqis, with absolutely no excuse for invading their country.
Posted by: Eric Bloodaxe | Feb 19, 2007 9:29:03 AM
I am sick to the stomach. This is repulsive.
Posted by: PC | Feb 19, 2007 9:43:03 AM
Barry, we need reminded of the little acts of kindness that take place in horrible situations. If we do not remind ourselves of them, then in a way we become little different then those responsible for the horrendous acts to begin with. To blame an emailer for sharing the tenderness of being human and suggesting that it should be in our consciousness, is in itself a tacit form of guilt and evil. The Marines do understand their calling, for the most part. The power of the internet gives an ability to shares images that 20 years ago would have remained out of our consciousness. The picture is not just about one Marine---it speaks to the best of what humanity has to offer.
Posted by: Carl | Feb 19, 2007 9:43:50 AM
Eric,
You seem to have your head in a bad place. Terrible, awfull , and unlawfull things happen in war, but the way your statement is presented makes it seem as if everyone one who fights, commits those horrors. You are just as bad as the person who says why not more of this in the press. Okay I am sorry you are much worse. Since by lumping all the service people in one statement you condemm them all. If it was a statement that was specific to an incident you would have been on solid gorund. If you made a statement that had the logic of " collateral damage is another way to say inadvertant murder of civilians" and then presented a range of figures you would have had me working with you. But you did not.
And yes I am a so called bleeding heart liberal, who thinks the war is wrong and conducted badly, but I try to see what is really going on, without gross distortions and the presentation of those distortions as if they were fact rather than one person's distortion.
Posted by: alexd | Feb 19, 2007 9:48:59 AM
Thanks for rebutting that snivelly crap Barry. I get spam like this all the time, and it's all misallocated patriotism in blind support of an unsupportable war.
Ya gotta wonder about the *source* of these emotionally catchy things though, don't you? ;)
Posted by: Idaho_Spud | Feb 19, 2007 9:50:02 AM
Carl,
I am attempting to remind people that these acts of kindness have taken place throughout the past in all manners of wars and conflicts. There have ALAWAYS been tremendous acts of kindness and bravery by our fighting men throughout time. I do not seek to denigrate that at all.
What is different this time is the "complaints about the lack of media coverage of these small kindnesses."
What are the motivations of those who complain about the lack of good coverage, the dearth positiver Press for all the good things we are doing in Iraq? There are many subjects worth debating dicussing, analyzing, but the one that gets the emailer's goat is "HEY, WHERES THE COVERAGE OF ALL THE GOOD NEWS?
It is not cynical to question the people whose biggest issue about the War in Iraq, who think the problem that warrants our attention the most is the PR aspect.
Now THAT is cynical.
Mind you, I do not misunderstand the motivations of these people. In my experience, they are shrill
partisans, all too happy to take advantage of the emotional power of a photo while
ducking the rest of the broader story.
Note the original email -- it wasn't to praise the Air Force personnel for their acts of kindness, it was to whine about "Why isn't this all over the news? If he had done something wrong, it surely would be!"
That is little more than a cynical attempt at manipulation -- and to be blunt, I am sick and tired of being manipulated by fears of terrorism, by war mongering, by accusations that anyone who questions the war is unpatriotic.
Far too many times during the war, we have seen attempts to blame the messengers, to "work the refs," to duck responsibility for a poorly planned, poorly executed military strategy.
That is why I wanted to remind people of Behaviors that we should expect, that should not be news. Things that are, in a word, American.
Cynical? Perhaps. But far less than the egregious behaviors we have some from the powers that have mishandled the war and lashed out against any criticism of it.
Just one man's opinion . . .
Barry
Posted by: Barry Ritholtz | Feb 19, 2007 10:23:55 AM
Barry, thanks for the post. I expect you will get some grief over it. I agree completely with what you said, and your followup comment.
I wonder if the author of WHERE IS THE COVERAGE? has the same sense of outrage about the way we are treating our injured troops when they come home, see the latest in the Washington Post by Dana Milbank. There is something terribly wrong, and I am very afraid for my country.
Posted by: JWC | Feb 19, 2007 10:55:30 AM
"It's hard for me, living in this beautiful White House, to give you an assessment, firsthand assessment."
- George W. Bush, U.S. President, at a February 14, 2007 White House news conference, when asked about a recent National Intelligence Estimate report that some of the conflicts in Iraq amount to civil war.
[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070214bush,1,3617189.story?page=2&cset=true&ctrack=1&coll=chi-news-hed]
Posted by: cynical with good reason | Feb 19, 2007 11:00:36 AM
I would humbly suggest that the complaints about our troops making news only when they misbehave is a reaction to those in the media (e.g., Wm Arkin) whose overblown coverage of the inevitable bad behavior of a few soldiers evidences their belief that we are NOT the good guys.
Posted by: Jed | Feb 19, 2007 11:13:34 AM
Barry,
Thank you - as individuals and as a nation we will be judged and remembered by our deeds, not our words. As citizens we all need to rise above the horrible cynicism of our present society and recall the principles which have formed the basis of our nation since its inception. Because those principles have never been perfectly followed does not mean that they are valueless.
(BTW, lest anyone mistake the above for mindless patriotism, I firmly believe that George Bush should be impeached - and the sooner the better.)
Bob Johnson - ex USN
Claremont, CA
Posted by: Bob Johnson | Feb 19, 2007 11:17:47 AM
That was a different era. We had leaders of great intellect, courage, and judgement. They surrounded themselves with the best and the brightest. They purposefully kept aides around them who challenged their views, thought strategically, mapped out all possible consequences, believed in Science. They were pragmatic, not idealogues; they were experienced experts, not partisans.
This is the only part I have a real quible. I know you have a hobby horse in believing that people today are science averse. It doesn't help that the liberal studies departments keep calling what they do science. For whatever reason, the art of diplomacy is taught in political science. Nevermind that the societies we would consider to have most eschewed the myth, superstition, and folklore of the past were the societies responsible for the most reprehensible attrocities.
Regardless, the present circumstance in Iraq is not logical extension of forgetting science. Rather it is the product of an ethics that views the world homogenously. It presumes that the greatest desire of men is for free elections and the ability to accept foreign money for building capital projects. For the liberal, add all the women's rights issues, as if a woman with a newborn in Baghdad is grossly concerned over whether she will have to have a burkha. Our former ethical system was quite simple. It assumed that men wanted their children to grow to live a better life than they did; it assumed that men wanted to be secure in their homes and community. In short, the differences are found in philosophy, not science.
Posted by: M.Z. Forrest | Feb 19, 2007 11:23:41 AM
this whole thing is a joke...people pack your bags its time to move to canada...or some where nice were politicians are benign like shanghia...
http://recap.fednet.net/archive/Buildasx.asp?sProxy=80_hflr021407_035.wmv,80_hflr021407_036.wmv&sTime=00:01:41.0&eTime=00:03:48&duration=00:07:07.0&UserName=reppaultx&sLocation=&sExpire=1
Posted by: DD | Feb 19, 2007 11:27:37 AM
link no workie...
http://www.house.gov/paul/index.shtml
who knew...a voice of reason would come from texas...
Posted by: DD | Feb 19, 2007 11:30:45 AM
To call this a PR issue misses that many people get all the information that forms their views solely from negative coverage and opinion of all things America (or Amerikka).
In WWII everyone knew someone in the war and everyone knew the story of the war. It was common knowledge and shared experience.
That shared experience of the American military doesn't exist as widely as it once did. The result is a significant number of people whose opinions are formed entirely from the relentlessly negative line fed to them.
Some of the comments here are so vile I know that the common knowledge about America the Good is not so common. These are people who will go on to make political decisions for this country based on delusion.
Posted by: Max | Feb 19, 2007 11:53:47 AM
barry i think you're taking the email a bit beyond it's intention to make your own points. good news never gets coverage like bad news as it doesn't sell papers. PR wars seem more intense today due to the quickness and diverse information sources than in the past.
whether the war was ill-conceived or not, this doesn't change the core of what us as americans espouse when confronted with such challenges, reported or not.
Posted by: Richard | Feb 19, 2007 12:08:23 PM
delusional is to think that this country is moving in the direction of the principals it was founded on...
Posted by: DD | Feb 19, 2007 12:10:42 PM
All this pleading for good news reminds me of a scene from Blackadder [as best I can recall it]...
[King Richard IV of England is playing with model horses on a map of Europe, plotting with one of his nobles how to conquer various countries; Messenger enters]
Messenger: Your majesty, news...Lord Wessex is dead.
King: I like not that news.
Messenger: Pardon?
King: I do not like that news!
Messenger: Pardon?
King: I LIKE NOT THAT NEWS! BRING ME SOME OTHER NEWS!
Messenger: Yes, my lord!
[Messenger leaves; King resumes playing with his horses. One second after leaving, messenger returns]
Messenger: My lord, news! Wessex is NOT dead!
King: Ah, good news! Let jubiliation reign!
Put another way, there is something darkly hysterical about people demanding propaganda to sustain their will as they continue to pour good money after bad.
Posted by: Mr. Flibble | Feb 19, 2007 12:16:29 PM
@Max -- "some of the comments here are so vile" -- what planet are you living on? It seems a reasonably, rational discussion wherein some people have different opinions but nobody yet has been even remotely rude or vulgar, and certainly nobody is being hateful about America, unless you're of the crew that thinks any criticism is unpatriotic.
@Barry -- do read the WaPo piece on wounded Iraq vets and the shameful treatment they're getting here at home.
Posted by: fiat lux | Feb 19, 2007 12:29:52 PM
The picture has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that the poeple who started this war and continue to run it are incompetent morons and need to be replaced...the same way an incompetent CEO of a corporation would be replaced, or a crooked CEO like Ken Lay, or Dennis Koslowski, or Bernie Ebbers, would be removed, tried and sent away.
Posted by: Bob A | Feb 19, 2007 12:53:40 PM
Thinking on the original question... the lack of publicity for acts of kindness, I can't help picturing Marlon Brando's explanation of the true horror of war in Apocalypse Now.
He describes the "pure genius" of the enemy having hacked off the arms of children recently vaccinated by US forces.
Posted by: Estragon | Feb 19, 2007 1:42:59 PM
This might be a little complicated for some of you guys but a good exercise might be a thoughtful analysis of Baathist Socialism and it's pan-Arab fantasy, Islamic fundamentalism and Shiite messianism which, by the by, all come from that particular part of the world. WMD may not have been found in Iraq post invasion although we KNOW they were there, since they were used against locals prior to the invasion. There is a twisted ideology motivating the three groups over there which, if let loose, will make 9/11 and the Iraq War look like a school recess. All the US and her allies have done is create the possibility for a civil society among the Iraqi people. Without Sadaam Hussein, the Shia and Sunni would have killed each other off long ago. Since Sadaam pretty much limited his exterminationist policies to the Kurds, are you implying that the Shia were happily ruled by the Sunni minority which supplied the 'nomenklatura' for the Baathist thugs? That part of the world, sorry to say, will need to be cleaned up sometime. Why not now?
Posted by: Tom C., Stamford,Ct. | Feb 19, 2007 1:43:26 PM
well yeah...when the last time presidential hopeful colin powell showed his face...
Posted by: DD | Feb 19, 2007 1:44:22 PM
who is to say its to us to do the cleaning?the fact that we are "good"? means we have to go fight with some extremely crazy arabs? let them clean themselves up...or hack each other to bits...that's the argument...not whether they were happy or not before we got there...
and shi'ite are a very small minority in the arab world anyhow...
Posted by: DD | Feb 19, 2007 1:53:52 PM
