Resolve
People crave simplicity. We like to know what is going on around us, but we do not want to have to think too much about it. At least, that is the only explanation I have for why complicated issues in society are reduced to one-liners on TV news programs. Even the “in depth” news programs consist of more posturing and dueling personalities than extensive coverage of the issues. The war in Iraq was billed on very simple terms from the outset: Defeat the evil dictator and install a democracy, a fine something that all people need. The real complexity involved in America reformatting a foreign society (installing a stable and well supported government, creating civil institutions, preventing other governments from meddling in the process, etc.), was brushed aside. Clearly, those involved knew what we were getting involved in. I think that those who promoted this war did a disservice to us in selling the war on such simple terms. I think this problem does not depend on which side of debate you fall on. Whether you think that we needed to fix Iraq at this point or not, Americans should have done much more heavy thinking before we started this war. That many of us did not is the fault of the politicians, but also the media.
I will even give you a case in point. Fox’s Bill O’Reilly spoke at Lake Michigan College yesterday. O’Reilly was one of the war’s most popular, and biggest supporter, but now that the difficulty of the assigned task has come to light, he seems ready to cut and run. The South Bend Tribune covered the address:
In Iraq — “a very heartbreaking situation” that was entered into with “very good intentions,” he said — O’Reilly favors stabilizing the country, then leaving. The Iraqi people, who he says had an opportunity to fight for their freedom but have chosen not to do so, “have lost me.”
“I don’t want one soldier dying for them … They don’t appreciate us … The faster we get out of there, the better,” he said. “We gave them a chance like we gave the South Vietnamese people a chance.”
Wow, that is a strange parallel. My question to those who supported going to war, but now want to quit, is “What do we know now that would did not know (or could reasonably guess) before the war?”
