FOR THE last several months, the United States has been consumed with debate over the crisis in the Persian Gulf. Media sources as varied as National Public Radio, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post and our own Cavalier Daily have focused intently and in depth on the issues surrounding the impending war in Iraq, to the exclusion of many other stories that in times of peace would have made the front page and the prime time news. Now, with 24-hour TV devoted to covering few issues outside of the unfolding campaign in Iraq, and with newspapers plastering their front pages with news of the war, this phenomenon has become more acute. The focus on Iraq in the American media has led a palpable fog of war to descend on our awareness of grave national issues, and this dulling of our perceptions that is brought about by the obsession with news of war is dangerous to our democracy because it has the potential to suspend or minimize debate over controversial and important issues.
There are many other issues, in fact, that do not relate directly to the war in Iraq, but nevertheless deserve the attention of the media and of the American people. Several of these issues, which have the potential to affect the way of life and the future of the American republic much more than the war being waged half-way around the world, are currently being debated or have recently been decided upon in the U.S. Congress. In this time of war, it is essential that the public remain aware of the major decisions being made by our representatives in the Senate and House, and it is the duty of our media to inform us not only of developments that affect our soldiers in the Middle East, but also those that affect the citizens and the assets of our own nation. In the absence of the media's attention to these issues, however, it becomes the responsibility of average citizens to seek out important issues that are being overlooked by the media's producers.
As citizens of a democracy, it is our duty to demand that such attention be paid in matters of import to our lifestyle and our future in this country. Several recent and pending actions in the Congress pertain to issues that are of great importance to a majority of Americans, but which have not been scrutinized sufficiently because of all the energy that has been devoted to understanding and shaping the Iraq situation.
The first of these issues is the (normally) hotly contested issue of abortion. The most recent development came March 13, in the form of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which was recently passed in the Senate and the House. Some have hailed the bill for seeking to terminate late-term abortions, which they regard as tantamount to murder. Pro-choice activists, however, have expressed grave concerns that the bill is too vague on the terms of the ban and might overturn the Supreme Court's decision of Roe v. Wade that has been interpreted as enshrining reproductive choice even as late as the third trimester of pregnancy. Because of the mounting tensions that have surrounded the situation in Iraq, the passage of this consequential bill made little more than a blip on the media's radar screen.
A second controversial bill that may have fallen under the radar of many news buffs and observers of the workings of the legislative process is entitled the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2003 and seeks to ban any and all practices that lead to the cloning of human beings. This bill, passed by the House on February 26 and supported by President Bush, is likewise hailed by supporters for heading off the possibility of human cloning in the United States. Conversely, some scientists and medical professionals fear that the language of the bill will fetter the cause of genetics and the beneficial medical treatments that have come from research into human reproduction.
Oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is another contentious issue that for several years has been debated but never approved by the Congress as a whole. The most recent measure in the Senate was narrowly defeated only one week ago by a vote of 52 against and 48 in favor. This bill, as it has been in the past, was hailed as important for the reasons of improving the economy in Alaska and of lowering America's dependence on foreign oil. Opponents have in the past cited adverse environmental consequences of the move to make an area the size of North Carolina into a region that would be exploited for its petroleum.
Finally, the budget of the U.S. Government for 2004 did see a fair amount of press coverage and debate in the media over the controversial tax cuts, spending increases,and modifications to Medicare protection proposed by Republicans. This integral issue, as with the others above, has in the past few days been neatly swept under the rug by the agencies that provide and control our news. The congressional debate over cuts that Republicans hail as integral to economic renewal and Democrats fear will benefit only the upper class of Americans has largely been obscured from the public eye. The thick fog of war that 24-hour news coverage has put in place thus presents a grave challenge to the citizens of the United States.
Americans must attempt to consciously override the barrage of war-centered news stories emanating from the major networks and newspapers to challenge themselves and the news agencies to report on important domestic issues. In this period when war dominates our consciousness and our mainstream media, we must challenge ourselves to seek out alternative sources of information for these issues. We must not allow the media's fog of war to cloud our clarity of vision on important issues that demand our attention, nor to obscure our awareness of important events occurring in our back yards.
Only if we demand of CNN, Fox and MSNBC to report on the other debates going on in the country will we be able to avoid the pitfalls to which our temporary blindness might lead.
(Ilan Gutherz's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at igutherz@cavalierdaily.com.)
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