Fork Ahead.

One of the reasons that I finally decided to open up this blog, was to find a home for this small piece. The issue is more complex than one that can be handled over a period of a few days – but it is still something that is worth getting into – and more importantly being aware of. 

-----

There is no surprise or great revelation in the idea that there is a string of pro-western and unfortunately concomitant anti-Islamic sentiment that underpins the dominant streams of mainstream media – as we are exposed to them. There is in my mind and factually speaking no doubt about the existence of this trend – but variation occurs in terms of its degrees. Ranging from hidden and implicit to strikingly in your face.

 This ‘trend’ is simple to understand but extremely intricate in its formulations. Like any other ‘smear’ oriented campaign, it depends on diverting  attention from a ‘complex’ and ‘thick’ issue and instead present something that is quicker, easier and more appealing/exciting to understand. I insert the previous qualifications of quickness etc. keeping in mind the majority of television news channels.

 This string of pro-western/anti-islamic sentiment is the same that is  responsible for the infamous “they (muslims) hate us for our freedom” argument. Whatever that means. Other forms of the same involve using the terms ‘islamist’, ‘muslim’ and ‘terrorist’ in such a confused fashion that given enough time – and believe me, enough time has passed -  they become interchangeable. 

I think what requires clarification at this point, is that this trend in the media - is not a personal-one time event. Maybe in some way, that's the saddest part. The anti-muslim routine is really just the flavour of the post 9/11 day. It works for now and it works Well. Yesterday it was the Russians and tomorrow, it'll be the North Koreans or the Chinese. Who knows. Maybe I'll live long enough to see the next switch. When I was a kid, air-force one was still being hijacked by Russian spies, so who knows. So if it's not about religion, then what is it?

Insofar as what I have been exposed to, I think the most worrying thing about the presentation of many of the dominating issues around the world, lies primarily in bad argument. By bad argument, I am referring to deceptive reasoning. This can mean distorting the facts, fabricating the facts and/or omission of facts. There are enough cases of all three.

The problem with bad argument is amplified by another few elements. The first of them being a general euro-centric attitude – which becomes all the more natural when you’re from a place like India (or any other ex-colony).  The second element, is something that in the face of which, I have seen the most (socially perceived) intelligent/educated people talk like they’re falling down the stairs. The element of repetition.

If you repeat a bad argument long enough – and long enough here – referring to years not months and the degree of repetition being as aggressive and intensive as possible (think of Daily news).  The most complex issue or idea can appear to be self-evident. An a-priori matter of fact – needing absolutely no qualification. Our minds forget to hit the brakes and we can barely put together how we got where we did in the first place.

 We forget things we see as ‘small’, things we think are ‘irrelevant’ – And when those self-evident conclusions require justification we do so circumstantially, blaming it on the times or the state of things as they are. Essentially we run in circles like a dog chasing it’s own tail. We are deep in our mess of fuzzy and circular logic.

What makes the whole thing infinitely worse, is what we also sideline is the larger picture, in the face of smaller issues. For instance, when we talk about something happening in Israel or in Palestine, we forget that whatever is happening, is happening in a larger sense – namely the longest illegal occupation of a foreign territory. One can hardly say it’s irrelevant.

Or, for another example, when we talk about Afghanistan and the failed state it is, – we conveniently forget the fact that the Americans (and the Russians) recruited, armed and trained the same people they’d give an arm and a leg to catch now (the code name of the CIA project for the same, was called Al-Quaeda – big surprise). The same argument applies to Vietnam – and a myriad of other cases.

It is tempting to blame the media - the channels and papers that fabricate and bend material; then the corporations with the political leanings who force them to do it; and then the ruling governments that threaten to cut off corporations that don't comply with 'national' agenda. This is all a vague but frequently mentioned order of things. The honest truth for now, is that we don't really have any body to blame but ourselves. We are intellectually lazy and easily convinced .

Ironically, the acquisition of information today is almost effortless - what would have once taken weeks of ground work and research, now can moreorless be served up on a silver platter in minutes. There are a plethora of real independent news sources, a countless number of NGO's, watchdogs - all keeping track of defense expenditures, civilian deaths, civilian casualties, civilian rapes, child deaths, soldier casualties, government statements, fact checking - We'd be amazed at how much we'd be able to find, from the inside of our homes with Minimal effort. That is, if we Even bothered trying. 

Right now, we're just not that proactive. We're happy blaming who we're being told to blame - and perhaps it's natural to choose the simpler story over the complex one that challenges everything else. There is an anger (and if not an anger, a discomfort) that arises from an awareness of deception - and maybe that's just too inconvenient for us. All in all though, every one gets screwed together - one way or the other - and at this rate, I don't think we deserve better. 

 

To be contd.