Paul J. Balles considers the deadly mixture of underreported and ignored news, indifference and self-denial which allow injustices to be perpetrated, follies to flourish and crimes to be committed under false pretexts.
The most underreported news includes Native Americans' support for Palestinians and the discovery of US-made white phosphorus munitions used by Israel on Palestinians. More examples of underreported news:
The best proposal for an "exit strategy" from Iraq was made by a Baghdad man who said, "Thank you for getting rid of Saddam. Now please leave our country."
In July 2008, 21 South African activists, including African national Congress members, visited Israel and occupied Palestine. Their conclusion was unanimous and mostly unreported:
What I see here is worse than what we experienced – the absolute control of people's lives, the lack of freedom of movement, the army presence everywhere, the total separation and the extensive destruction we saw... racist ideology is also reinforced by religion, which was not the case in South Africa.
Have you ever wondered why organizations like Al-Qaida or Hamas or Hezbollah find it easy to recruit new members? Who reports these truths?
In Afghanistan, observes Norman Solomon, "the opponents of the US war are diverse and wide-ranging. With every missile strike that incinerates a household or terrorizes a village, the truly implacable “extremists” can rejoice at Uncle Sam’s assistance to their recruiting efforts."
Barack Obama, in his speech to Congress said: “With our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat Al-Qaida and combat extremism, because I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens halfway around the world. We will not allow it.”
Obama’s speech was reported. The aims and results of that kind of warmongering rhetoric were not: more troops into battle (17,000); slaughter of more innocent civilians; infuriation of more relatives, family and tribal members; more joining of resistance groups; and more retaliation labelled terrorism.
Dave Lindorff made it clear that Obama's reference to the economic crisis as the major issue confronting the country hides several larger problems: “...one could argue that this crisis is merely a symptom of much bigger issues, like the nearly completed deindustrialization of the nation, the death grip of militarism and the growing political power of corporations...”
Hardly anyone refers to the deindustrialization of the country. Rarely does a writer lament the fact that so much of American industrial production has been "outsourced" to other countries where labour is cheaper.
Though objections to the continuation of the occupation (it's not a war) in Iraq have been made, few have challenged the illegal interventions in other countries, the huge costs of military waste and the power of military suppliers to nearly bankrupt the nation.
While considerable vocal efforts in America have supported health care reform, educational opportunities, assistance to the homeless and jobless, little has been said about the corporations as culprits in creating today’s huge problems.
The mainstream media often seems to cover up major issues that should be addressed. Numerous events have been fully understood but simply ignored by a knowing public. James McEnteer explains:
We knew about the illegal kidnappings and tortures, the self-serving legalisms that subverted the Geneva accords and papered over constitutional lapses, the lies that led us into conquest and occupation. Starting well before the invasion of Iraq – which millions around the globe protested in unprecedented numbers before it occurred – we knew the “weapons of mass destruction” and Saddam’s connections to Al-Qaeda were --- excuses. But many millions of us tried to pretend that we really weren’t sure.
Which is worse? Being denied the news? Special interest groups sweeping the truth under the carpet? Or knowing what's going on and looking in other directions? They're all equally bad except for prisoners in a concentration camp who lack any semblance of freedom.
Paul J. Balles is a retired American university professor and freelance writer who has lived in the Middle East for many years. For more information, see http://www.pballes.com.
