We have abandoned our principles

Why are the American people now against the idea of Liberty and Freedom for all?  When did we abandon the principles found in the Declaration of Independence?   When did we renounce the beliefs of Thomas Jefferson and stop believing that “freedom is a God given right” for all men?

The American media has presented a one sided point of view with respect to the ongoing developments in the Middle East, and this has resulted in the American people abandoning principles we claim to be most dear.

One country has invaded another and has brutally ruled for the past 35 years.  This nation has defied international law in its invasion and occupation. It has been condemned by the world for its invasion and its illegal occupation but this is conveniently ignored by the American media.  During the past 35 years this nation has been condemned by the nations of the world on at least 70 occasions and has also been condemned by international human rights groups for its brutal repression of a freedom seeking people, but the media chooses not to report this to the American public.  Israel is a  nuclear equipped nation and has one of the most powerful armed forces in the history of the world with one of the highest living standards in the world, and has chosen to invade and occupy a nation of poverty stricken people who have no armed force with which to defend them.  The indigent people have had to fight a most sophisticated military force with sticks and stones. The media has chosen to present the indigent people struggling for their freedom as the aggressor, and the powerful brutal oppressor as the victim.

The killing of innocent people is rampant but the media presents only one side and never chooses to report that the Palestinian death rate is about 600% higher than the Israeli death rate. The media seems to suggest the loss of Palestinian women and children is far less serious than the loss of Israeli women and children, an attitude which smacks smacks of racism.  Chris Hedges  a New York Times correspondent said: ” But I’d never seen soldiers bait or taunt kids like this and then shoot them for sport as he described the IDF tactics in a Harper’s article entitled ” A Gaza Diary”.  Naturally the media ignored Hedges’ comments. The media has chosen to preoccupy itself with “suicide bombers” while ignoring the slaughter of innocent Palestinians with tanks, bulldozers, F-16, Apache and Cobra helicopters. Recently Israel invaded Jenin and refused to allow the world to watch as purported War Crimes were being committed. The American media ran away to hide while the slaughter took place and 800 Palestinian families’ cinder block homes were leveled by Israeli bulldozers.

Special UN envoy Terje Roed Larson visited Jenin and said; “This is horrifying beyond belief” and called it “a blot that will forever live on the history of the state of Israel”. Naturally the media ignored his comments and stuck their heads in the sand.  Now Israel is refusing to allow a UN inspection team to determine if any “War crimes” were committed.  Meanwhile the US is preparing to again bomb and invade Iraq because they will not let a UN weapons inspection team into their country.

The entire civilized world has recognized that occupied people have a “right to resist” an illegal occupation, a fact that the media has chosen to ignore. Instead our media presents resisters as “Terrorists”. Using their logic Patrick Henry, George Washington, Nathan Hale, the Minutemen, and the French Resistance, would all be evil terrorists by the media’s standards.  Yasser Arafat is presented as a “Terrorist” but the media never reports that Mr. Sharon has been forbidden from ever holding the position of Defense Minister in Israel for his role in the Massacre at the refugee camps Sabra and Shatilla.  The media also chooses to ignore the fact that Mr. Sharon is facing indictment in Belgium as a “war criminal”.  He will undoubtedly be acquitted as three of the eye witnesses have met with mysterious and violent deaths during the last several months.

Meanwhile around the world the media has presented a more balanced picture and therefore a much more informed public.  It is no wonder that American sentiment for the occupying nation is not reflected by the international community.

It is very evident that the American media has taken sides, and in presenting its one sided view has forsaken everything that we as Americans hold dear.  The media has sold its soul; but even worse it has convinced the American people to renounce the soul of the American Experiment.

Mr. Joseph Clifford contributed above article to Media Monitors Network (MMN) from James Town, Rhode Island, USA