Spectator Wars

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/08/08-0


“Pakistani authorities have long denounced the strikes, out of concern that civilian deaths caused by drone strikes inflame the local population, bolster militant groups and violate Pakistan’s sovereignty.” – CNN, July 26

“Analysts said the administration was still grappling with the fact that drones remained the crucial instrument for going after terrorists in Yemen and Pakistan — yet speaking about them publicly could generate a backlash in those countries because of issues like civilian casualties.” – New York Times, Aug. 2

Oh, the serious news! I read it with ever-fresh incredulity. It’s written for gamers. It reduces us to gamers as it updates us on the latest bends and twists in the geopolitical scene. We’re still playing War on Terror, the aim of which is to kill as many insurgents as possible; when they’re all dead, we win (apparently). The trick is to avoid inflaming the locals, who then transition out of passive irrelevance and join the insurgency. They get inflamed when we kill civilians, such as their children.

This is the news: without moral depth or even curiosity. America is carrying out “targeted killings,” over and over and over. The government has determined that doing so is necessary to keep us safe and that’s all that matters. The mainstream media purvey the data to Spectator Nation, otherwise known as the American public, which goes on about its business. The disconnect seems almost total.

“But because the drone program remains classified, administration officials are loath to discuss it in any detail. . . .”

This is the Times again. Same story. The facts just sit there, objective, shallow, unquestioned. Reading the news from an “of the people, by the people and for the people” perspective is excruciating. I believe, with a burning impatience, that if we had a truly independent media in this country – a courageous and angry media, which revered the planet and human life and the concept of democracy – we wouldn’t be mired in our present wars and would, in fact, be deeply challenging the institutions that perpetuate war itself.