Media Attention.

[Raccoon Love]

It seems that the media more and more offers covers on stories regarding the lives of celebrities. It is truly saddening that other important issues are given second priority compared to this "celebrity scandals"

I found this articles to be a very nice read, it really touched me and inspired me.

http://afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/10/viral-post-pits-coverage-of-sheen-fallen-soldiers/

Viral post pits coverage of Sheen, fallen soldiers
By Wayne Drash, CNN

It started with a Facebook status update. Upset at the media's coverage of Charlie Sheen, someone took up for American soldiers dying in Afghanistan.

"Charlie Sheen is all over the news because he's a celebrity drug addict," it said, "while Andrew Wilfahrt 31, Brian Tabada 21, Rudolph Hizon 22, Chauncy Mays 25, are soldiers who gave their lives this week with no media mention. Please honor them by posting this as your status for a little while."

The status update has since gone viral, shared by tens of thousands on Facebook. An abbreviated version is on Twitter.

When a friend of mine posted the message on her Facebook page, it was a sobering reminder of the news media

 

[Majesty]

Yeah that sucks and all, but most people would rather see the lastest gossips about Brad Pitt dumping Angelina Jolie with Lindsay Lohan than guys dying.
And that's what they want, views. =/

I however think there is already a lot of emphasis on aameriican soldiers dying. You're a soldier, you know you may get killed. That's your choice. If you die, that's your fault. You take a risk and you must think about how your family will be if you die. People act like going in the army is omgomgomg you're a hero especially if they're in USA because everyone knows USA is the best country and has heroes and people doing it for their god damn families and blah blah blah, and it does get annoying.
A good example is the september 11th. They even made a memorial day on it and all the big thing. And if you compare it to many many many things happening outside USA, it's nothing. And no one cares, cuz it's just a little country no one cares about.

There is much worse in the world than USA, much better heroes than people going in the army. Those should get on the TV.



(Don't worry americans, I don't hate you)

 

[Raccoon Love]

Well, I find amazing the cause he died for. He did not have to enlist, in fact he might have faced discrimination because of his sexual orientation. He risked his life on the belief that he did not want to see families separate. I think this is key, as it clearly shows that 1. Homosexuals are capable of being in the armed forces 2. They are like you and I, not much different and many have compassionate hearts and 3. This guy is fighting for the families and to keep them alive..why shouldn't he get the exact same right?.

This shows great importance, a great example for the LGBT community and many people.

 

[not sure]

Well, I find amazing the cause he died for. He did not have to enlist, in fact he might have faced discrimination because of his sexual orientation. He risked his life on the belief that he did not want to see families separate. I think this is key, as it clearly shows that 1. Homosexuals are capable of being in the armed forces 2. They are like you and I, not much different and many have compassionate hearts and 3. This guy is fighting for the families and to keep them alive..why shouldn't he get the exact same right?.

This shows great importance, a great example for the LGBT community and many people.

I don't want to diminish your opinion because I once saw that kind of sacrifice as noble. I don't any longer. A life is precious and short. It should never be squandered fighting for other men's spurious causes. Sure they spin a good tale but always if you scratch the surface there is a rotting underbelly. If you must sacrifice your life, sacrifice it for your friends not for causes. Causes don't mourn you. There is way too much senseless death in the world and everyone forgets that the enemy are just ordinary men seduced into supporting a cause too.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
Sun Tzu

 

[Majesty]

Well, I find amazing the cause he died for. He did not have to enlist, in fact he might have faced discrimination because of his sexual orientation. He risked his life on the belief that he did not want to see families separate. I think this is key, as it clearly shows that 1. Homosexuals are capable of being in the armed forces 2. They are like you and I, not much different and many have compassionate hearts and 3. This guy is fighting for the families and to keep them alive..why shouldn't he get the exact same right?.

This shows great importance, a great example for the LGBT community and many people.

Yeah he was kinda accepted even if he was gay and all, but that changes absolutely nothing. Society has evolved a lot on that and gays would have been a lot more accepted anyways.
War is stupid. Dying for something stupid doesn't make you a hero.


And like Alien said, they're probably saying the same thing on the other side, like Omg Jim (evil guy according to USA & allies) died he's such a hero we are right and they're wrong etc.

 

[Raccoon Love]

Yeah he was kinda accepted even if he was gay and all, but that changes absolutely nothing. Society has evolved a lot on that and gays would have been a lot more accepted anyways.
War is stupid. Dying for something stupid doesn't make you a hero.


And like Alien said, they're probably saying the same thing on the other side, like Omg Jim (evil guy according to USA & allies) died he's such a hero we are right and they're wrong etc.

People are going to go war anyways. Some people have that mentality, of being patriotic which is why the army has not been in need of a conscription. He made this sacrifice for humanity not for the act of war, so that let's say a child does not loose his dad. In the article it clearly stated he was a pacifist.

There's always going to be conflict, though we can always seek peace and unity. Till we reach that point though, war will still happen. Lets face it, if brave people like him would not be in war, random people will be conscripted. I think people should be thankful at least that he is willing to go there voluntarily so that the average citizen does not get drafted.

Tell that to Martin Luther King who got shot in the head, or Ghandi. True they never went in battlefront, but they knew that their opinions could easily cost them their lives.. The same applies to everyone in the civil rights movement. Sometimes for change to happen,we need sacrifices. Its sad, but that's when the world finally starts to open its eyes a little more.

If a cause ain't noble or worthy, then I guess we can go back to the days of slavery and oppression.

 

[uuu]

The people who died are names and numbers, as far as I can see, and as far as the media tells me.
Charlie Sheen is a story.

That said, RIP to those amazing men and women, and I agree with that article to an extent. But I like to approach the news like a work of fiction. Do you want it to be realistic, to the point, and factual? Or do you want it to tell a story that you may relate or contrast with, that helps you learn a little about yourself and the world? (Charlie Sheen would be a bad example of this, but that sort of thing).

I actually prefer reading fiction to the news. Fiction is the author's synthesis of everything, where the useless tidbits are culled and the story is left with pure meaning. Fahrenheit 451 taught me more about human nature than newspaper obituaries ever will.

 

[not sure]

People are going to go war anyways. Some people have that mentality, of being patriotic which is why the army has not been in need of a conscription. He made this sacrifice for humanity not for the act of war, so that let's say a child does not loose his dad. In the article it clearly stated he was a pacifist.

I certainly don't know what was in that soldier's head but it makes no sense to save one child's dad by killing another child's dad. What many people call patriotism sounds like vanity to me.

There's always going to be conflict, though we can always seek peace and unity. Till we reach that point though, war will still happen. Lets face it, if brave people like him would not be in war, random people will be conscripted. I think people should be thankful at least that he is willing to go there voluntarily so that the average citizen does not get drafted.

You haven't seen enough death yet.

Tell that to Martin Luther King who got shot in the head, or Ghandi. True they never went in battlefront, but they knew that their opinions could easily cost them their lives.. The same applies to everyone in the civil rights movement. Sometimes for change to happen,we need sacrifices. Its sad, but that's when the world finally starts to open its eyes a little more.

If a cause ain't noble or worthy, then I guess we can go back to the days of slavery and oppression.

King and Ghandi demonstrated with their life, true nobility. Their assassins were no more than criminals. It is the mindless following of the orders of powerful men that leads to oppression.

 

[Raccoon Love]

I certainly don't know what was in that soldier's head but it makes no sense to save one child's dad by killing another child's dad. What many people call patriotism sounds like vanity to me.



You haven't seen enough death yet.



King and Ghandi demonstrated with their life, true nobility. Their assassins were no more than criminals. It is the mindless following of the orders of powerful men that leads to oppression.

The guy who died clearly stated he was gay and single, in a country where in most states gays are not allowed to adopt children he felt that was the least he could do. This is a specific case.

The assassins were criminals against the cause. If King was white and promoting segregation, this would have had a different ending.

Sadly, early human society has been shaped to oppress others who are different from them. We are slowly breaking out of that habit. But with such freedom comes sacrifice, it's not going to happen simply because of a bunch of people discussing philosophical issues on the internet. Is very easy to discuss this here, but in the end it is easily forgettable. People notice their flaws after their acts. It should not be this way, but that's how progress has been build over the years.

 

[not sure]

Let's agree to disagree because it isn't even clear what is being discussed here. I shall leave it to those who know better than I.

 

[Raccoon Love]

Let's agree to disagree because it isn't even clear what is being discussed here. I shall leave it to those who know better than I.

I really do appreciate your perspective. =) Sorry if I came off a bit to serious.

My views are to avoid war as much as possible, though I still have an admiration for those who have died. Its all a matter of how its perceived.

 

[not sure]

I really do appreciate your perspective. =) Sorry if I came off a bit to serious.

My views are to avoid war as much as possible, though I still have an admiration for those who have died. Its all a matter of how its perceived.

An apology is completely unnecessary.
We agree that war should be avoided as much as possible.

 

[muir]

There's a reason most soldiers are young

The young haven't yet had a chance to evolve their perceptions and are more easily 'seduced' (as Alienspectator said)

The young are easily drawn in by deceptive ideas about: honour, bravery, courage, glory & patriotism in war but don't yet realise that these things are a surface gloss that is painted over a rusting hulk. The traits of the school sports field: aggression, competition, blind loyalty to your team and overcoming your fear translate straight, for many youngsters joinging the military, into the theatre of war

The attitude that war is a game comes over clearly in clips released on wikileaks, which shows the military firing at people from long distance through gun sights (as if they are in a computer game) and also through the cavalier comments of the soldiers who are too young to grasp the magnitude of the crime they are carrying out against other human beings

That surface gloss of false perceptions is scoured off by war and that is why so many young people come back damaged from war. Their false, rose tinted perspective has been shattered and replaced with the cold, ugly and unforgiving reality of war

The problem is that each generation provides another crop of fresh faced, naive youngsters to carry the flag of the old cynical men who are the power behind it all

Vote with your feet and DON'T fight their war for them

The media wants to distract you from the atrocities which are being committed by the armed forces.

The media wants to keep the public in a state of fear, because people who are afraid do not think clearly and will often cling to the first thing they think will keep them safe.

The media tell the public that their military is justified in its acts. That false idea provides the public with that thing to cling onto....the false idea, that what is being done is being done for their safety and freedom....in truth it is the opposite