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February 11, 2005
On The War On …
The War On Terror and The War On Drugs have a lot in common. Both are wars against concepts, reducing important issues to dopey clichés. You can’t have a war on a concept, you’ve got to change people’s minds. The recent elections in Iraq may have been a victory for some of the Iraqi people, but it did not affect Al Qaeda in the least; a democratically elected government won’t have any negative impact on the organization – and that’s assuming a democratically elected government free of U.S. control (and you can’t have one without the other) would be unfriendly to their interests.
So how do you “win” the War On Terror? You go to Saint Ronnie – actually, Saint Ronnie’s wife – and you use the exact same tactic we used to win the War On Drugs.
Just say no to terrorism.
Or, in the words of Dr. Timothy Leary, “just say ‘no thank you.’”
Or, as Bobcat Goldthwait said, "Oh, now you tell me."
Posted by Mike Gold at February 11, 2005 02:39 PM
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Comments
"You can’t have a war on a concept, you’ve got to change people’s minds. "
Sure you can. Just look at the "war on smoking". Funny thing is, they're pretty much using the same tactics as the war on drugs.
Posted by: eclark1849 at February 12, 2005 08:37 AM
What? I'd be more concerned about John Stewart, as his fake news tends to be more accurate than CBS. Their record of 'creating' news is just too over-the-top. I'm suprised GM doesn't OWN CBS after the dynamite in a truck episode.
Posted by: JR Judt at February 14, 2005 01:14 PM
Wierd - the above post went to the wrong list... sorry.
Posted by: JR Judt at February 14, 2005 01:16 PM
When it comes to faking or totally screwing up a story, CBS has quite a track record. I remember back in the mid-60s they came to my high school (well, it wasn't MY high school until the next year) where they staged student interviews to back their story. A couple years later my high school journalism teacher used that as an example of what not to do -- he really cut them a new asshole.
To be fair, though, the best coverage of the Chicago Seven (Eight) Conspiracy Trial was provided by Bill Curtis, for CBS-TV. It made his career. And where would A&E be without him today?
Posted by: Mike Gold at February 16, 2005 03:32 PM