A Matter of Perspective
I have been keeping myself from posting about the war because it is a complicated and charged issue, and I usually don't write of such things here (or anywhere for that matter). However I have been thinking about it a lot lately and might as well express my thoughts. After days of reading CNN.com and listening to NPR I am blown away by the strange American perspective presented in these news outlets.
About a week or so ago when Israel really began its assault on Lebanon, I was listening to a fascinating interview between the host of Airtalk on NPR, a Strategist from the Israeli army, and an opinions editor for the LA Times. The Israeli officer was introduced first and gave a eloquent and interesting presentation of his side of the story. He spoke about the terror in which his country lives, why they need to stand up for themselves now, once and for all, and all the many precautions the military was taking to insure the safety of innocents as much as they could in war time. When the editor was announced I expected to hear a counter argument to the officer's claims, but I was greatly surprised. This man was a student of the history of war and had recently published a comprehensive history on the many forms of warfare throughout time. He was adamantly pro-Israel and worried that they were not being strong and forceful enough. He said that a nation cannot survive and its people prosper if they are not willing to defend themselves tooth and nail for their freedom and right to survive. He said this is exactly what Hezbollah was threatening, both to Israel AND the citizens of Lebanon itself. After both of these men spoke with force and intelligence on a matter of two nation's survival, the host says, "Yes, all this may be true, but what about the public relations battle that will inevitably ensue? Shouldn't Israel be worried about what people are thinking about them?" WHAT!? Public relations? Have we as a country so lost touch with real threats to peace and prosperity that we are more concerned with what Britain or the UN will think than what will help two entire people groups survive?
This morning when glancing through CNN before work I was again surprised to read a headline emblazoned across the page reading "12 Lebanese Confirmed Dead Since Israeli Bombings Began" right next to a picture of a bloody woman being pulled from a danger zone. Though every loss of life is incredibly tragic and twelve deaths mean twelve families devastated and 12 communities damaged, it also means that Israel has been cautious and careful. The number in total is closer to about 450, but even then I couldn't help but wonder at why we were not celebrating that it is only a small percentage of the population loosing their lives to such dangerous and terrible circumstances. We are able to count each person who has died, a luxery not often afforded in battle. Surely we must remember the loss of life that comes with war and celebrate that our numbers are not closer to that of any of the world wars, in which the death toll cut down entire populations.
I am afraid for the citizens of the middle east. I mourn that they are in danger and that their communities are being damaged and destroyed, but this is war. This is what war does, and as long as we believe that this war should be fought (a matter of debate, certainly, but a different debate), we need to regain an international and historical perspective that celebrates the caution and respect for life the Israeli and American forces are employing. If the same could be said of Hezbollah and Al Queda perhaps we wouldn't be involved in this war as a third party in the first place.
As a side note, this twisted perceptive is not exclusive to international news. I hate that Pamela Anderson's wedding (I wish we didn't have to call it that) to that human pile of grease gets a billing next to President Bush and Prime Minister Blair's international address. I hate that after a headline featuring a famine, we see that Jada Pinkett Whatever saw Tom Cruise's baby (and that this is somehow news!). I hate that as a national heat wave kills over 120 people, as well as cattle and crops, the sub-headline is "Lindsay Lohan overcome by heat on movie set". Why the hell do we care? This world is enormous, full of tragedy, need, and world changing events. We are fortunate enough to live in a world-wide community where we can know about the lives and needs of people removed from us by thousands of miles, a different culture and a different religion. It is my hope that I and those I love can refocus our perspective from the limited and confused nation we live in and open our eyes to life, war, death, and true prosperity with all that it entails.
I am very proud of my sister for joining the Navy. I am extremely proud to know that young men from The Torrey Honors Institute such as Nathan Tourtelotte and Colin Anderson are serving their country, even though they have the brains to get any other job they want. I am proud that one of my best friends from high school spends most her time feeding and teaching the poor in Guatemala. It is not only what they are doing but their reasons for doing so that make these people so special. In a culture that would rather discuss some crazy actor's reasons for not selling his youngest child's pictures for public consumption, at least some of my peers are reaching for something much more important. Please friends, continue to do philosophy, learn how to teach, turn off the TV, join the marines, or at least read the news. Our country and our world need you.
About a week or so ago when Israel really began its assault on Lebanon, I was listening to a fascinating interview between the host of Airtalk on NPR, a Strategist from the Israeli army, and an opinions editor for the LA Times. The Israeli officer was introduced first and gave a eloquent and interesting presentation of his side of the story. He spoke about the terror in which his country lives, why they need to stand up for themselves now, once and for all, and all the many precautions the military was taking to insure the safety of innocents as much as they could in war time. When the editor was announced I expected to hear a counter argument to the officer's claims, but I was greatly surprised. This man was a student of the history of war and had recently published a comprehensive history on the many forms of warfare throughout time. He was adamantly pro-Israel and worried that they were not being strong and forceful enough. He said that a nation cannot survive and its people prosper if they are not willing to defend themselves tooth and nail for their freedom and right to survive. He said this is exactly what Hezbollah was threatening, both to Israel AND the citizens of Lebanon itself. After both of these men spoke with force and intelligence on a matter of two nation's survival, the host says, "Yes, all this may be true, but what about the public relations battle that will inevitably ensue? Shouldn't Israel be worried about what people are thinking about them?" WHAT!? Public relations? Have we as a country so lost touch with real threats to peace and prosperity that we are more concerned with what Britain or the UN will think than what will help two entire people groups survive?
This morning when glancing through CNN before work I was again surprised to read a headline emblazoned across the page reading "12 Lebanese Confirmed Dead Since Israeli Bombings Began" right next to a picture of a bloody woman being pulled from a danger zone. Though every loss of life is incredibly tragic and twelve deaths mean twelve families devastated and 12 communities damaged, it also means that Israel has been cautious and careful. The number in total is closer to about 450, but even then I couldn't help but wonder at why we were not celebrating that it is only a small percentage of the population loosing their lives to such dangerous and terrible circumstances. We are able to count each person who has died, a luxery not often afforded in battle. Surely we must remember the loss of life that comes with war and celebrate that our numbers are not closer to that of any of the world wars, in which the death toll cut down entire populations.
I am afraid for the citizens of the middle east. I mourn that they are in danger and that their communities are being damaged and destroyed, but this is war. This is what war does, and as long as we believe that this war should be fought (a matter of debate, certainly, but a different debate), we need to regain an international and historical perspective that celebrates the caution and respect for life the Israeli and American forces are employing. If the same could be said of Hezbollah and Al Queda perhaps we wouldn't be involved in this war as a third party in the first place.
As a side note, this twisted perceptive is not exclusive to international news. I hate that Pamela Anderson's wedding (I wish we didn't have to call it that) to that human pile of grease gets a billing next to President Bush and Prime Minister Blair's international address. I hate that after a headline featuring a famine, we see that Jada Pinkett Whatever saw Tom Cruise's baby (and that this is somehow news!). I hate that as a national heat wave kills over 120 people, as well as cattle and crops, the sub-headline is "Lindsay Lohan overcome by heat on movie set". Why the hell do we care? This world is enormous, full of tragedy, need, and world changing events. We are fortunate enough to live in a world-wide community where we can know about the lives and needs of people removed from us by thousands of miles, a different culture and a different religion. It is my hope that I and those I love can refocus our perspective from the limited and confused nation we live in and open our eyes to life, war, death, and true prosperity with all that it entails.
I am very proud of my sister for joining the Navy. I am extremely proud to know that young men from The Torrey Honors Institute such as Nathan Tourtelotte and Colin Anderson are serving their country, even though they have the brains to get any other job they want. I am proud that one of my best friends from high school spends most her time feeding and teaching the poor in Guatemala. It is not only what they are doing but their reasons for doing so that make these people so special. In a culture that would rather discuss some crazy actor's reasons for not selling his youngest child's pictures for public consumption, at least some of my peers are reaching for something much more important. Please friends, continue to do philosophy, learn how to teach, turn off the TV, join the marines, or at least read the news. Our country and our world need you.
posted by Cate at 10:26 AM
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