- by Sobia Aslam "I have a dream; I have a dream today that the time will come in America when my children will be judged by the content of their character rather than by the color of their skin." Martin Luther King's words might not stand true today, thanks to the American media and its propaganda in connection with the recent terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In the tragedy that took place on Sept. 11, I, as a journalism student, feel that the American press has been anything but unbiased and fair. Broadcast and print alike have been irresponsible in mishandling the entire situation, and printing inflammatory headlines like 'War in America'. This has caused many Americans to immediately blame other ethnic groups as a whole for causing the tragedy and the emotional backlash has intensified people's stereotypes about religions and countries. These ethnic groups feel unsafe and threatened in a country that professes to give freedom of religion, speech and practice to all. There have been many reported incidents of abuse and harassment, and three killings. Though all this cannot be attributed to the media, it can safely be said that instead of helping keep emotions down and making people think rationally, the media has made a lot of assumptions on the basis of religion and color and has led the American people into lashing out to those whom they think are responsible for this act. It is sad to see that in a country as "advanced" as America people are so completely controlled by the media. It has everyone in its clutches and even though this is true of almost all media all over the world, at least in developing countries most people are aware that they are being lied to---in America people trust their media blindly and the media in return feeds off these trusting souls. Who says then that the developing world is illiterate and less advanced? At least they can read their governments and media well. These are issues that are not addressed in newspapers, magazines and television channels and what surprises me the most is that no one seems to want to know the answers. What is it in the American foreign policy that has led a group of people to execute an atrocious plan that has taken the lives of so many innocent people? Why would the terrorists hate this country so much that they would be willing to die in the process of killing her citizens? These questions need to be addressed, rather than being shoved under the carpet and the organization that can make people look at these important issues is the media: the newspapers, radio stations and television channels. As a student of journalism, it saddens me to see the way the American media has the ability to make or destroy whoever it wishes. This is not freedom, as some people might like to call it. It is dictatorship by a very powerful group of people who control the thoughts and invariably the actions of the citizens of the greatest power in the world. Unfortunately, the Americans tout freedom of expression but they themselves are the biggest followers of their own media. |
