The Unbearable Lightness of Kabul
Even wonder why the news only seems to cover the bombs in Afghanistan that target white people? I do too, and the Columbia Journalism Review let me ask why:
Soldiers often complain that “the liberal media” doesn’t report on what’s good. The axiom “if it bleeds, it leads” is largely true, and a lot of soldiers on the ground resent their good deeds going unrecognized. This complaint is somewhat misplaced: the war media doesn’t always catch what bleeds—and, in some cases, can create a misleading impression of calm. When looking at some of the unreported acts of violence in Kabul and even Kandahar, a rather different picture of the country emerges.
Anyway, as always, on topic comments are welcome.
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Tags: Afghanistan.
Posted by Joshua Foust on December 1st, 2008
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Comments
Time: 12/6/2008, 10:24 am
Mr. Foust:
Well, of course! Although all nations and peoples suffer from this syndrome, I think we, as Americans, are near perfect exemplars.
“It’s all about us.”
The story of Afghanistan, for America, is the story of what Americans are doing to help Afghanistan. It is a terribly parochial view, but there you go.
When I was in Kazakhstan (and, for two glorious weeks, in Mongolia), I encountered the same thing. I called it “isolationism abroad.” Expats would go to the Hyatt or Hilton to have a hamburger and Coke for lunch, instead of getting shashlik and Sary-Agash mineral water at a street vendor’s stand. It always reminded me of the BBQ scene in Apocalypse Now.
Slainte!
Time: 12/1/2008, 4:23 pm
I find it hard to get worked up about something that’s not just limited to Afghanistan, but is embedded in the very structures of journalism. Do you have any ideas about how these events might be covered without slotting neatly into the preconstructed narratives (”war on terror”, “liberal media bias”, etc)? Obviously independent journalism addresses that to some extent, but it’s a big ship that you’re trying to turn…