On CNN yesterday, the question was asked “where are the anti-war voices on TV?” I’ve pondered that question myself. Don’t you remember, at the outset of the Iraq/Afghanistan wars, the abundance of speakers who opposed these wars? You know, one major network had the popular “Lew Rockwell/Ron Paul Report,” while another provided us with the “Justin Raimondo/Angela Keaton” panel discussion. Programs like these presented us with minds from across the political spectrum: Bob Higgs, Chris Hedges, Paul Craig Roberts, Amy Goodman, Tom Woods, Glenn Greenwald, John Pilger, Jim Bovard, Karen Kwiatkowski, Anthony Gregory, Daniel Ellsberg, Tom DiLorenzo, Jacob Hornberger, Laurence Vance, and . . . well, you’ll recall the popularity of such people – and others of equal stature I have inadvertently overlooked – in their prime-time appearances on television.
You don’t remember how their opinions dominated TV programming in those days? Have you forgotten how eager the networks – along with the Republican party – were to get Ron Paul to elaborate upon his opposition to war during political debates? Perhaps all of these people just got tired of discussing peace, their opposition to war, and decided to retire into lives of luxury provided by their erstwhile popularity.
I suppose that, if the “anti-war voices” no longer choose to appear on TV, the networks will have no alternative but to bring on retired generals and admirals, neocon activists, other representatives from the military-industrial complex, along with journalists and academics eager to suck up to the political establishment, to make up for the anti-war opinions the establishment is so eager to have presented to an inquiring public!
As an alternative, I would suggest that you – along with the CNN authorities that deigned to put this question on the screen – try looking at other channels for anti-war discussions. The Internet is the most fruitful source of varied opinions, but some cable channels provide alternatives to the propagandizing it has long been the purpose of the mainstream media to provide. Al Jazeera is one such choice, as is “Democracy Now,” or what has become my favorite news channel, RT (or Russia Today).
Printed with permission from LRC Blog.
