The New York Times's Saturday revelation (here) that The Pentagon was directing the messages of network and cable news's military analysts was a bombshell. It was evidence that our government, and, in particular, our military was deliberately and deviously propagandizing the nightly news.
As Glenn Greenwald pointed out here, no one in the news media cares. He writes:
And now we have what is by all metrics a huge new story regarding more fundamental media failures (at best), and they collectively invoke the Kremlin-like methods of Dick Cheney--they refuse to comment, refuse to reveal even the most basic facts about what they did, and do everything possible to hide behind the wall of secrecy they maintain. They don't even feel the slightest bit obligated to say whether they have any procedures to prevent manipulation of this sort in the future. And those classic information-suppressing tactics are all being invoked by news organizations--which claim to be devoted to disclosing, not concealing, scandals, corruption and facts about how our political institutions function. [Emphasis his]
I would call this chilling and shameless silence Orwellian, but why bother? Once there's a reality show on network TV that appropriates a concept for its name, that concept has lost it's power. Once we've already called Orwellian the indefinite and extra-judicial holding of U.S. citizens, the un-checked kidnapping or "extraordinary rendition" of U.S. citizens, the use of above-the-law mercenaries (euphemism: contracters) to torture others in our name, that word has lost it's power.
So, I ask the question Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who watches the watchmen?)
Writer Alan Moore asked that very question in his novel Watchmen. It was through the question, not answering it, that he created such a groundbreaking piece of fiction. Similarly, I will not answer my question (the answer, if you're wondering, is "we do"). Instead, I will try to explore the question.
Our media has failed us. If you've been watching the news at all this last month, then you've seen a narcissistic media obsessed with questions of bowling scores and drink preferences, generation-old domestic terrorists and generation-old domestic blowhards. What we haven't seen is coverage of the things that matter. We haven't seen much coverage of our President's knowledge and permission of his highest aids determining just how long we could waterboard a person. How long we could deprive him of sleep. How long we could put him in stress positions. How long and how often we could torture him.
Yes, the media failed us. Most evidently in last week's farcical debate (here and here, for examples), most destructively in its embracing of a narrative that portrays Democratic men as effete, elite, foppish faggot" (to quote Ann Coulter) and Democratic women as castrating, emasculating Lady Macbeths. Meanwhile the same media fawns at the feet of America's most notorious warmongers; "Talk about a warrior," Brian William's said--barely able to contain the his drool as he stared adoringly at John McCain's curmudgeonly visage.
This is our media. These, the erstwhile watchers of our watchmen. But there will be no more Pentagon Papers, no more Deep Throats. Important media revelations, these days, are about lapel pins and haircuts.
Alan Moore, in Watchmen, created a world with men who would be Gods. Extra-judicial superheros, determined to protect us from ourselves. It is one of these watchers--custodians of our safety--who, in end, kills millions to bring us peace.
And President Bush--a man whose power certainly gives him more claim to the title God then most alive today--will torture us to save us. Deceive us to keep us safe. Who watches the watchmen?
Alan Moore ends Watchmen on a particularly relevant note. Veidt, the superhero/murderer, just wiped New York from the face of the Earth to save us all. He asks fellow superhero Jon:
Veidt: I did the right thing, didn't I? It all worked out in the end.
Jon:"In the end?" Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.
What could be more true for President Bush's ends-justify-the-means policies? There is no end. Torture is torture. Propaganda is propaganda. There is no end to reach. The world just keeps going (we hope). The end was good: Saddam is gone! But that isn't really the end, is it? Our soldiers are still dying. The Iraqi people still live with fear and death in their homes and neighborhoods. The end was good: We put away bad people! But that isn't really the end, is it? We have become a symbol for superpowers gone bad. Camp X-Ray is the new Gulag. The end was good: The people support the war! But that isn't really the end, is it? Those retired generals and soldiers, those military experts have become shills for The Pentagon. Our government has set a precedent for secret propaganda on its own people. Who knows where this will lead us? To another disastrous war, perhaps?
On the eve of Pennsylvania's presidential primary, after a week of further media inanity, I want to suggest something. The real question isn't who our watchman (or watchwoman) is--who are president is. The real question will be our watcher or watchman--what is the state of our democracy and our democratic institutions. Certainly, our choice of president is important--extremely important. But for me, tonight, I am more concerned with the strength our cultural-political fabric. I fear it frays. I fear the media is just a tattered old thing.
So I ask, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
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