Nothing Sells Tickets Like a Spectacle

Looking over the news coverage, I was shocked to see that people are using sensationalism and fear to boost interest in foreign affairs. Shocked. This sort of thing has never been done before, and it is a sure sign that the stalwart credibility of our national media is finally showing some flaws. I am, of course, being ironic. I am not at all surprised, though I really didn't see this coming.

Before any close election, and even the ones that aren't, you can always rely on the pundits to change the topic or skew the argument. The last Presidential election is a prime example of how the simple repetition of a few falsehoods was enough to make people think that a decorated war hero would be a poor commander or our nation, yet the man who led the country into a poorly planned war that the majority of Americans were opposed to at the time of the election would defend the nation with his own bare hands.

This time the numbers are much worse for the Republicans, so the tactics are a bit more grandiose. Turn to any news channel, any program, where a prominent Republican appears and they will most likely use the words "World War III" to describe the Israeli-Lebanon conflict, terror threats around the globe, and continued animosity with Iran and North Korea. You may ask how exactly that constitutes a world war when only two of those nations are actually fighting, and Iran and North Korea have been threats for a decade, while terror threats don't equate with the ability to carry out those threats. Not to say that all of these things aren't serious and shouldn't be of the greatest importance, but what I am saying is that a great disservice is done by using hyperbole and mischaracterization to incite fear and panic in the American people.

This is a time for diplomacy, for well-planned and restrained military action, for international cooperation and reform, and for complex issues to be treated accordingly. This is not a time to shout "fire" in a crowded theater so that everyone can be trampled and half of us burned to death. As soon as you say "World War III", you conjure up images of a nuclear holocaust and global annihilation. You also draw a clear picture of organized alliances where there are none. So, basically, what you do is turn a colorful and complex mosaic into a black and white cartoon where everyone is against us and everyone must be dealt with by force or else we are all screwed.

So, coming up to this next election, rather than discussing prudent strategy and necessary domestic reforms, rather than talking about ways to limit troop deployments and stabalize democracies, and rather than working to return to fiscal and social responsibility we are going to be talking about the Apocalypse and who you want at the helm of our John Connor/Omega Man/Beyond Thunderdome future...the unflinching Republicans who stay the course no matter what public opinion, reason, or the actual outcome suggests...or the weak willed Democrats who just want to be loved and give the world a hug. Does that sound over simplistic? Watch Meet the Press and listen to Newt Gingrich, because that's basically what they're setting us up for. They think we're ignorant and easily swayed, and you know what? They just might be right.