Finding the balance in a situation, inherently fluid and rife withcontradiction, is a difficult position to be placed in. However, asAmerican citizens this is our plight as presented to us by ourpresident. The situation inIraq, whether you agree with it, is one that must be recognized,discussed and brought into a frozen moment, something with theviscosity of molasses. This is the hopeful result of photographs.America’s own history of war photography, dating back to the CivilWar, has become a tried and true asset to the American public duringtimes of war.
These photographs bring the war home. Writing is subject torevision and movies are subject to editing, but photographs can nothave anything within their scope robbed from them. Pictures worthmore than a thousand words have come home to America during warspast. Fallen soldiers, grief-stricken citizens and a sense ofresponsibility and culpability came with them. The picture of theSouth Vietnamese officer shooting a Vietnamese peasant in the headcomes to mind very quickly, as does the image of monks lightingthemselves on fire in protest of war.
In our current conflict in Iraq, this sense of compassion,culpability and responsibility has been robbed from the Americanpublic by a lack of photography, not just of soldiers preparing forbattle, but of soldiers actually participating in battle. TheAmerican public has been granted shock and awe, and we have seenanti-aircraft missiles fired numerous times, but the lack of a humanelement inherent in these technologically driven sights robs us oftheir impact.
In Italy, following a particularly bloody day, Italy’s bloodiestsince World War II, the entire country went into mourning. The warhit home for the public. The compassion of Italian citizens, not justfor the Italian citizens, but also their troops in the country,skyrocketed in the wake of these losses. The pictures of the statefunerals given for their fallen soldiers brought home a large senseof guilt for me as an American. To me, the human element was finallygiven voice in the images sent abroad.
An election year is on the horizon and the Bush administrationdefinitely doesn’t want an internationally questioned war to becomethe leading topic. However, we as Americans are still responsible forthe state of the union, and more than that, for the state of thecountries we affect. The surest way to right the wrongs of our nationis through greater access to and use of information. During theconflict in Iraq, the press has severely limited the printing ofpictures of our fallen, thereby hindering our access to possiblylife-altering information.
In fact, our “Commander in Chief” has not even attended the statefunerals for those making their final flight home for months now,showing his disregard for the importance of these events. Over thissame period, however, he has attended more than 31 fund-raisingevents.
This might not mean much to you, but to me it shows a gravedisparity in the position of our cultural values to that of theinternational community we are giving the cold shoulder. Bush’sattempts to court this community have failed because theinternational community is largely against the war in Iraq, largelyangry with American imperialism and largely frustrated with ourcountry’s refusal to compromise. While we trudge onward, we mustremember that compromise is at the heart of democracy, especiallyAmerican democracy.
The White House is not completely to blame, despite requesting thelack of press given to our fallen. The press itself must be heldaccountable for public ignorance in regard to the plight of oursoldiers. Stories of troops lugging water for latrines, falling incombat and having their throats slit in the streets are not givenfull light for the eyes of the American public, and this is becauseof our lack of visual aids. Unfortunately, this severely hinders theperception of America abroad and our own appreciation of our troopswho have given so much. The Bush administration must concern itselfmore with the results of its actions than with suppressing them whileattending $5,000-a-plate fund-raising dinners. The American public isculpable for its actions, and we deserve to receive the entirepicture presenting itself in Iraq.
– Bill Luecke is a history junior and a senior staff writer forThe Daily Aztec.
– This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of TheDaily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com.Anonymous letters will not be printed – include your full name, majorand year in school.
