Who’s Working Hard for Peace? (Conclusion)
This is the last of a quick seven-piece series on a basic question: we all say we hate war and violence and injustice, so who among us are doing anything about it? I decided to approach this question by looking at those who hold several key roles around the world, grouped not by nationality or religion but by function. Here’s what we looked at:
• Independent Activist Organizations
• Writers, Artists and Musicians
I’d like to conclude with the group I feel closest to: journalists and bloggers (I’m really not interested in discussing the differences between journalists and bloggers, which is probably an overplayed topic). I think we’ve got a pretty lively public dialogue going on here in the USA. We’ve got loud voices like Michael Moore, Bill O’Reilly, Jon Stewart, Ann Coulter. I disagree with at least half of them all the time, and all of them probably half the time — but in the end I’ll just say I’m glad they’re all around to keep the dialogue jumping (as annoying as Bill O’Reilly is).
But there is no shared dialogue on a global level. Over here, we read our over-here newspapers that show upsetting pictures of casualties in Israel and don’t show upsetting pictures of casualties in Lebanon. Over there, they read their over-there newspapers that show upsetting pictures of casualties in Lebanon and don’t show upsetting pictures of casualties in Israel. Oh yeah, and both sides think it’s shocking how the other side doesn’t show photos of their casualties, and never notice that they do the same thing. We need better dialogue between nations, between religions, between languages. I wish some of our proud superstar journalists and supposedly innovative media executives would figure out ways to make this happen.
This is an exciting time to practice journalism, due not only to advances in digital video and networked communications but also to a new level of confidence and bravery among both amateur and professional journalists. I have no doubt that this trend will continue, and I can only hope that TheCherryOrchard.org will find ways to contribute to this trend.
August 2nd, 2006 at 7:50 am
Here\’s a question. Maybe I can come up with an answer as the day progresses, but anyone is welcome to help me out. How did Ghandi\’s actions become known to the world? When Ghandi protested against the oppressive British rule by fasting, how did we hear about it?
August 2nd, 2006 at 9:25 am
Like Martin Luther King, Gandhi had a very good understanding of public relations. He knew that lodging formal governmental protests was useless, and instead set out to create public displays of popular protest that would be picked up by newspapers and magazines and film newsreels. He always took the case to the public, and never missed a chance to create a spectacle.
Bill, if you’ve never seen the film “Gandhi”, I do recommend it. The depiction has some flaws, but it lays out the amazing sequence of events fairly accurately. I’d also recommend Gandhi’s excellent autobiography, which is easy to find.
August 2nd, 2006 at 10:09 am
Newspapers and magazines, ehhh…?
August 5th, 2006 at 6:09 am
My friend and co-conspirator Barry Gremillion is doing the Peace Hat project
http://peacehat.net/
Awareness is always the first tool of political change.