How we see war

[Deckard]

Originally Posted by Sean

To the point about airing more graphic footage from wars on the news, I personally have a bit of an issue with that. My wife and I are starting to try to have kids, and I don't like the idea that if I had a young child and I was watching the news, they could suddenly be subjected to images of violence on that scale. I get what you guys are saying about driving the reality of war home to people, but I'm not sure that shoving images of it in the faces of children who aren't ready to process the raw pain, death and emotion of it all is the way to go.

That's true, but let's certainly see it on the 10pm bulletins.

Originally Posted by Strangelet

I know this sounds really elitist, but its not because I admit that I am no genius. However, there is a huge difference between me and most of the people that surround me on a daily basis. Unlike most americans, I don't think its ok or even cute to be stupid. Its the willful stupidity, chosen out of some drastically misguided sense of right and wrong, this is what kills me.

No mate that's not elitist. I consider it ultimately far more damaging when people deny the overwhelming amount of stupidity (by that I mean wilful ignorance) out there - it has to be one of the most potent forms of political correctness going. It should be perfectly legitimate to acknowledge, free of any guilt, that large swathes of people in the richest country in the world show an enormous amount of ignorance when you know that you personally mean no harm and take no pleasure in seeing/saying it. I realise that we don't nurture understanding and education by dismissing people as stupid, but there comes a point - for instance when 'intellectual' is a dirty word - that people have to speak out.

Originally Posted by Strangelet

And maybe I'm turning into myshkin, but I really have this suspicion that America is corrupted with a culture of willful stupidity, engineered by corporate power.

You know it may not be centrally organised in the true conspiratorial sense, but certainly corporate and political entities benefit from the spread of stupidity. (Btw, where is that dude these days? Do you think we came across as sheeple a little too strongly? )

Incidentally, Chuck - not read the article yet, hence no comment to make on it. I'll get round to it...