Media, The Pope & The War

THE OCCUPATION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED

On April 2, 2005, Pope John Paul the Second surrendered his hold on mortal life and the Iraqi insurgency staged a daring assault on the infamous Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad. Cars exploded and a firefight raged for the better part of an hour, wounding some 44 soldiers and uncounted insurgents and prisoners.

Here was an opportunity for American mass media to interrupt its 24-hour coverage of the revered religious leader’s vigil with riveting coverage of the war in Iraq. While it may have been considered a violation of protocol in some quarters, the media have shown no restraint on matters of taste in recent years, shamelessly exploiting grief and suffering wherever it might occur.

There was no coverage from Baghdad because there are no honest journalists left to cover it. The invasion was covered in excruciating detail (sans the blood of American soldiers) but the occupation will not be televised.

Clearly, the American handbook of democracy does not include a free press. News organizations that are not under the direct control of the occupying forces are banished and independent journalists venture forth from the relative safety of their hotels at their own considerable risk.

Occupied Iraq is the most dangerous place on the planet for journalists and no measures have been taken to reverse the trend. The message has been delivered in bright red ink: If you are not embedded with the US military, if your story is not subject to American vetting, then you are not welcome in Iraq.

The occupation will not be televised, the civilian dead will not be counted, and the American death toll will appear only on the scroll streaming across the bottom of your favorite cable news program.

As we reflect on the legacy of John Paul II, we should consider who he was, what he stood for, and what he stood against. He was both a good and great man who genuinely cared for the suffering and the oppressed. He visited Africa more than any other continent. He admitted the sins of the past and, more than any religious leader since Martin Luther King, he forwarded the cause of tolerance by accepting and embracing the world’s other great religions. He stood against wars of aggression and wars of choice (Afghanistan and Iraq), opened the door to Cuba, championed freedom and democracy in Eastern Europe, and was never overbearing in proselytizing or promoting the church’s more regressive policies. Most critically, he refused to bow to the New World Order of our president and his circle of neo-conservative warlords.

Though I am at odds with many of the Catholic Church’s policies, I admired this Pope for his character and his consistency. When he spoke of the sanctity of life, he did not draw a line in the sand.

The Pope’s opposition to the war in Iraq received little more coverage on American media than the assault on Abu Ghraib. His bold and brave stance against the most powerful nation on earth was no more effective than the collective voice of ten million protestors on the streets of the world’s great cities.

At his best, Pope John Paul II spoke for those who could not speak for themselves. He spoke for the many who were never featured on the American or global media. He spoke for the victims of AIDS, the victims of genocide, the victims of environmental degradation, the victims of hunger and neglect, and the victims of unnecessary war.

We did not hear him as we might have, as we should have, while he lived. Perhaps we will hear him now.

Jazz.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS). HIS CHRONICLES HAVE APPEARED ON COUNTERPUNCH AND DISSIDENT VOICE.