Blog #5 - Antiwar Voices

Although I am a citizen of the United States, there is much I don’t know about what goes on both inside and outside of my country. I could search the popular news sites to find out what is happening in the world, but the information that I get from corporate media seems incomplete and biased. For example, as it relates to military operations and war, I may see news stories of what is happening and where, but I don’t see very much of the “why”. It is difficult to find opposing opinions as to whether or not the US should be involved in these operations. What is the cost? What is the benefit? Those answers are difficult to find. The instructions for this assignment were correct, I’ve never heard of either of the anti-war websites. I took a look and scrolled through both the websites. I saw that many of the headlines are focusing on concerns like cost, lives, conflicts of interest, diplomacy, propaganda, and failed leadership. The articles seem to be written by anti-war voices, and after reading some of the headlines, I was so surprised at how many things are currently going on with the U.S and other countries that I had no idea about. I’m certain there is information on these websites that many other Americans do not know about but should. So why would the corporate media focus much less on the anti-war concerns such as cost, lives, interests, etc? I fear that many corporate media outlets have become entrenched into a political narrative which mutually benefits the media as well as their political allies, creating conflicts of interest that only seek to serve their mutual agenda, and ultimately their profit. 

These antiwar voices go largely unnoticed because they are silenced by the media due to not falling

in line with a political narrative and/or financial motivation. In today's most commonly consumed news,

much of the content focuses on stories which cause fear and commotion in the population. The anti-war

news and opinions may be there, but they are well hidden below the fear and panic that dominates the

headlines. Fear and chaos keep people engaged, and engaged people drive advertising revenue for

the media. Stories and events that don’t draw an immediate sense of alarm and attention are rarely

seen in the important headlines of the day. 

For most people, anti-war stories are not going to hold their attention for very long. Those types of stories can be complex, time-intensive, and frankly boring. That said, they may be no less important than some of the absurd headlines that we tend to see in the corporate media. There should be more attention and recognition drawn to the anti-war voices in the US and around the world. The innocent civilians impacted by military operations deserve to have their voices heard in the news. War and military operations always come at great economic and social justice cost to those nameless and faceless victims, who are often all too easy to ignore or forget.