AGR Spring Fund Drive: Support your local alternative media!

Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter spoke recently about the war in Iraq and those responsible for its onset, pointing a finger at the usual suspects: the Bush administration, Congress and the media. But he also added an important qualifying statement: "… I'm not cutting any slack for the American people. As a nation, we are mute, we are silent." When talking about the war in Iraq it is undoubtedly essential to expose and highlight the machinations of the Bush administration and its willing partners in Congress and the media. But our analysis often falls short by obscuring our own culpability in the events that swirl around us: the war is carried out in our name with our tax money. By taking ourselves out of the equation, we reinforce our own complacency and create a radical disconnect from the grim realities that surround us. The mainstream media plays a significant role in strengthening this disconnect by shaping understanding of the role we should play in the political world. We are persuaded by the media to consult "experts" in order to understand current events and then blame any bumps in the road on the politicians that the same experts encouraged us to vote for. The media also carefully separates itself from the bumpy road that we travel down today. While significant attention is now being brought to the Bush administration's pre-war distortions, the media has obscured its own role in giving credit to and amplifying those distortions. As the media focuses on the administration's failures, it also helps us shift attention away from ourselves and our own collective failure to stop the war. Creating a viable alternative to the corporate media is obviously not the only thing we can do to reverse this process, but it's certainly is a start. The alternative media not only challenges established truths but also helps us to reconnect with the world around us. For the past seven years the Asheville Global Report has consistently filled this role by providing news and perspectives that are meant not only to inform people but to propel them to challenge the injustices around them. We can only continue to do what we do with community support. When the next war comes and fingers are pointed in different directions, it might be helpful to have someone there to hold up a mirror to show us that we are still sitting on our hands.