Logic Times

The Quantum Media in Iraq

Commentary by Aslan, 6/14/06, 11:00pm. Comments (1)

In Quantum Physics and the Media, Logic Times unveiled the Media Uncertainty Principle, which states: "The Media cannot accurately measure or disseminate information about basic reality." This is not just another way of describing media bias, but a declaration that the media is structurally incapable of observing and reporting about reality:

"This inherent inaccuracy stems from the violent interaction of the information gatherer(s) with the event being observed, and what emerges no longer represents the actual event. The violence done during the observation phase is not a physical violence, but a disruptive, prejudicial and dysfunctional pattern of thought and action by all members of the news gathering infrastructure, from factors as well-understood as biased reporters and editors, to elements as subtle as camera angles, props, timing, tone and the selection of adjectives. The end result is that no event of any complexity can run the gauntlet of distortion erected between the event itself and the eyes and ears of an interested citizen."

The al-Zarqawi killing and the Haditha incident are the most recent examples of the Media Uncertainty Principle in action. The Haditha fabrication will soon take its place alongside Dan Rather’s memos as a stunning example of how "reporting" – once understood to be a factual telling of events – has become "proving" a worldview the reporter knows to be true. Reporters have become Prosecutors, advocates intent on proving their case.

But the pervasive and deadly effect of the Media Uncertainty Principle over time is not just that media Prosecutors are out there searching for evidence to support their irrational worldview, it is that their worldview – in this instance, the belief that the military is corrupt and dishonorable, a source of evil in the world – is even a point of discussion. To transform honor (the normal state of the U.S. soldier) into dishonor requires a convoluted and manufactured standard: that wars are to be fought within tight rules of engagement for one side only. Difficult rules of engagement make for rule breakers, and rule breakers (i.e., John Murtha’s slaughtering Marines) are dishonorable. A more outlandish idea has never been proposed than to handicap one side in war, but it is the modus operandi of the U.S. military and it has cost the lives of American soldiers.

This is not to advocate the return of slaughtering Mongol hordes or even call for the U.S. military to abandon traditional rules of engagement, which remain a noble, but costly, badge of American honor. But it most certainly demands two things: 1) that every consideration be given to the soldier laboring under the burden of this handicap, and 2) that we continue to recognize that the welfare of an American soldier is more valuable than the welfare of every other human being in the war zone. Those who recoil from the implications of this statement understand neither war nor the life-and-death contract between citizens and the soldiers that represent them.

As this story unfolds, hang onto the Media Uncertainty Principle and recognize that what really happened in Haditha – the chaos of war endured by brave men – is hidden from view. How unfortunate that the U.S. military upper echelon, in their heavy-handed, political treatment of the Haditha Marines, reveals its ignorance of the MUP.

Comments

1: William

June 23, 2006 11:31pm EST

There nothing more that irks me than this subject. Any rational thinking being could only conclude massive bias with Media today. It’s so obvious, it’s over the top. And Johnny Q Public is oblivious to it, while the media parades around with its agenda hanging out like the Emperor with no clothes.

The WMD report today is a perfect example! How long did we hear the press and the left bark over and over again about "NO WMD!" And "Where’s the WMD?? " And now that the truth is out and it’s news - silence. No reports in the media, just diversion. It’s as if they cannot even bring themselves to acknowledge truth if it does not fit their plan to undermine the USA. I just have to shake my head.

The patriotic American is tired of it. The military and those that fight for our freedom are tired of it. And frankly, I hope enough of us wake up and do something about it.

{Aslan: The most dangerous force in America today: the biased media. I am with you on this.}