Home from Iraq: An editorial you must read...

[liz_marcs]

This text is from a speech photojournalist Molly Bingham gave at the Western Kentucky University last month that has been printed in the Louisiville Courier-Journal. After being bombarded by "fake news" focusing on white women running away from their weddings and told that questioning some things are "un-American," reading this is like a breath of fresh air.

Here's a sample:

Certainly, over the last three years I've had to acquire the discipline of overriding my emotional attachment to my country, and remember my sense of human values that transcend frontiers and ethnicity. And with a sense of duty to history, I needed to just get on with reporting the story. My value of human life and rights don't fluctuate depending on which country I'm in. I don't see one individual as more deserving of fair treatment than another. . . .

Now, I realize I'm in Kentucky, a state with many military connections, and there are many of you here who may have served, or have family members who serve, and let me take this moment to say that I have the utmost respect and sympathy for the American soldiers overseas right now, particularly in Iraq. They have been sent on a most difficult mission, to quell a population that will not be quelled, in a land awash with weapons. The American military is being used to find a solution to what is essentially a political problem, an equation that rarely adds up well. As if that were not enough, our soldiers have been sent with insufficient resources to protect themselves. In my mind, that is all inexcusable.

Read all of Home from Iraq here.

On the one hand, I despair that the concerns Bingham notes are now real concerns if you live in the U.S.A. today (a despair that's been getting deeper every day as I watch what's happening in this country from inside my relatively safe enclave in New England).

Yet, I am humbled, hopeful, and, oddly, strangely relieved by this speech and the fact that by publishing this, the Louisiville Courier-Journal has showed more grit and balls than almost every American media outlet reporting on Iraq.

It should be noted that Bingham for a short period of time was held hostage for a period of time in Iraq by insurgents.

The sad thing is, I just know Bingham is goingt to be villified for this.

Comments

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

That's a damned fine piece of writing, and I applaud her for putting it out there. I hope that she'll see some positive responses as well, but I suspect that your prediction is correct.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's a great link. Thank you for posting it.

[caille.livejournal.com]

Yes, I saw this earlier today and felt the same way about Bingham and the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Maybe it will push someone into picking up the film for distribution.

And yes, she had better break out the body armor. All the little wingnuts from the wingnuttiest sites are going to be calling for her "accidental" death by "friendly fire".

Meanwhile, ABC will still be broadcasting two hours on UFOs in primetime, and CNN will be looking for the next Runaway Bride story.

RE: Home from Iraq

[misagoddess.livejournal.com]

Wow. That was an incredible speech and wonderful reporting. I had essentially given up on hearing anything other than the status quo or, as you called it - 'fake' news. I haven't bothered really watching the news in years. It's all the same and everyone acts as if they were on some (bad) variety show.

At least now I can see some journalists are willing to speak up. Bravo, Ms. Bingham! I dearly hope she gets the kudos she deserves for her bravery.

And isn't it sad that I don't think she will.

[dreamerjules.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this. It's wonderful to see that people are still willing to act in accordance with the beliefs we espouse to hold dear.

[maystone.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting the link; I wish more people could have the chance to read it. The big news outlets seem to have abandoned the idea of news, settling instead for prepackaged shouting matches and infotainment. Thank God for LJ and blogs.

[4thdixiechick.livejournal.com]

Great article - thanks for the link

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

Ms. Bingham is a very brave woman. That was one of the most lucid and honest pieces I have seen on the issue of freedom and the role of the journalist in a democratic society. Asking questions we may not like the answers to and learning something about ourselves in the process is a difficult thing; I applaud Ms. Bingham for her honesty. I'm not an American, and as an outside observer, I am saddened when I see a great country such as yours seemingly willing to silence those who simply tell the truth. I hope for all our sakes, because the U.S. is so powerful, that others will have the courage to speak and write the hard truths. If truth can be silenced in one of the great democracies of the world, what hope is there elsewhere?