As Regards The Media

I see many people taking the position that some of what the media publishes shouldn't be published. Still others seem to want to take great exception to how some things wind up in the media, suggesting collusion, treason, and what have you. I generally disagree with those positions.

In my opinion if the media has a photo, a tape, what have you, of some act we find objectionable, they have not only a right, but a duty to publish it.

There is a principle that seems very difficult for some good and smart people to grasp - that the media in its purest form is really not American, or any other nationality for that matter. It was never intended to take sides, but to simply present the truth. Now, that is not saying I am pleased with the media, because I do believe they are biased toward the left side of the equation in America. But that, to me, is a different thing than suggesting they should not publish certain things because they seem un-American.

I would certainly like to see them publish more balanced information, more pro-America news ... but that doesn't mean I advocate that they not publish content they already do. I advocate more content to balance the equation, not less on one side to achieve the aim.

Call me an idealist, but what I really want is an America that can see one of our soldiers shooting an Iraqi, understand the realities of war and judge that situation accordingly - it happens, people die in war - some good people, some not so good.

I don't want an America that fears, or changes its mind because it sees an Iraqi election official shot down in the street in Iraq. I want an America that sees and understands such things as the very reason why we are fighting and must fight that war right now.

To shut bad, or bad looking news down is cowardly in my opinion. I say, bring it on. I haven't seen anything from Abu Ghraib to Baghdad that has weakened my resolve or belief in what we are doing.

To the extent we fear such images, we fear, not the images, but a weak America. I do not choose to live with a fear of my America, her people, or her justness. So, again, I say, bring it on. Let's have that debate.

Let's look reality in the eye and be better at making the case of why they shouldn't to those who might cower and change course from such images. Help people, especially young people to understand why they have to be objective and mature in their reasoning - and so come to understand that the world can be a terrible, mean, and sometimes deadly place, but the easy or seemingly painless way isn't always the best way.

To shield ourselves from information as above only serves to engender and codify weakness in the American heart; certainly, it does nothing to strengthen it. If we would have a stronger America, she'll be that way because she sees, knows and understands truth; not because she manages to hide her head from grim reality in some pretense that evil doesn't exist, mistakes don't happen, or both life and death are easy, and are always everything we want and think them to be, nothing else and always without err and even tragedy.