On lies, militarism and “terrorism”

Try to visualise the following scenario.  This actually appeared on a television news report.  It's early evening in Gaza/Palestine.  A television reporter and an Israeli General stand face-to-camera against the backdrop of a dusty town in a shallow valley.  Several buildings just behind them have clearly been shelled repeatedly.

“Roll - Mark.”  The interview commences.  The reporter asks the familiar question about the “security situation.”  They point the long and highly directional microphone upwards from near ground level towards the general's face to focus on his voice and to mute the ever-present background noise of conflict.  His words are deemed important.  He reads the usual script on the “firm action against terrorism” from memory.  He has learned it well.  It gives him an air of conviction and sincerity.  “We must stop violence, at any price.  They killed some of our people so they all fully deserve our retaliation in kind.”

The camera pans back out to show both speakers.  A military helicopter flies into view.  No one notices.  The reporter asks the next question.  The interview continues.

A slight puff of smoke from the helicopter - silent away from the mike's axis.  No one notices.  Two rockets streak across the valley and explode in a block of flats about two kilometres away.  No one notices.  Several people are likely to have been blown to pieces in the explosion.  No one really notices or says a word.  They are not important people and their deaths are not on today's news agenda.

The pervasive propaganda of the military power holders is repeated.  Their “Terrorists” include those kids who throw stones at our tanks.  Our “Defence forces” fire rockets at their blocks of flats.  The moral distinction is as clear as the day.  Unless, of course, you happened to have been living in the flats.

The media circus rolls on.  Prejudices are reinforced.  Essential issues are seldom raised.  From a Buddhist viewpoint, they spread the three poisons yet again.  Greed for power, land and the fanatical attachment called “Patriotism” grow stronger.  Hatred of all those who are not “one of us” is taught as the only way to defend what we have.  The insane delusion is again promoted that we can make the world a peaceful place if we can only kill enough of the right people.  The Buddhist concept of “right speech” - ie truthful, compassionate and building harmony - is nowhere to be found.  The possibilities of any commitment to harm reduction are seldom even sought, let alone agreed.  People's will for change is further atrophied.

On dust thrown in people's eyes

That long, furry, directional microphone feels to me to be a perfect metaphor for the bias inherent in much of today's media.  One could argue that viewers know that there is conflict in the Middle East and that innocent people are being killed by both sides, so striving to cover each atrocity fairly makes little difference.

However, the real problems go much deeper than that.

The mainstream media's usual agenda, with a few worthy exceptions, is limited to the issues that the propaganda system wants us to hear, giving the viewer a narrow and biassed view of what's going on in the world.

Most media sources are owned by a very small number of multinational corporations.  They benefit from the status quo.  They sell the weapons that kill and maim.  They create much of the pollution and waste that are desecrating our beautiful world.  Their power and influence are used to widen the gap between rich and poor.  They export investment and hence jobs to the areas of the world where wages are cheap and legal controls are lax.  When things go pear-shaped, they even profit from clearing up the mess they have made.

Corporations don't want anyone asking troublesome questions in the media.  They want us to sit back, relax and enjoy their quiz shows, soap operas and lotteries.

Let us try always to remember that our televisions have off switches - and even mute buttons for the adverts !

Moreover, the wider mainstream media agenda has a pernicious influence over the public's perception of important issues.  Our view is clouded by the dust of corporate interests.  The media set out the basis against which options are judged and developed, for example:-

• Iran stands accused of trying to make nuclear weapons.  Few media outlets ever dare to ask why America still has about 12000.  The UK, and Israel each have about 200.
• The government claims that we can't afford decent pensions for retired citizens.  Few people ask how we can afford to spend £22bn on the Eurofighter aircraft, the need for and design of which are questionable.
• We are reassured that there is a 'business as usual' solution to global warming, but the tiny measures proposed would make little or no difference.  Only by a large-scale reduction in CO² emissions can we hope to reverse climate change - but that's not on the agenda.
• Politicians argue over how much more to spend on the health service to help cure the sick.  No one asks why so many people are sick and why many people today are living amid radioactivity and pollution, eating junk food, full of animal fat and contaminated by toxic pesticides, microbes and hormones.
• We often tell people to stop smoking, yet there are tobacco adverts everywhere and the EU spends £800M per year subsidising tobacco growing - about six times the crop value.  Few people ask why.
• Politicians tell us that our cities are dangerous places and that we need more police to contain violence, but few people ask why violence and fear are so much a pervasive part of our way of life.

But, of course, it's profitable to sell weapons, cars, junk food, medicines, cigarettes, CCTV and burglar alarms.

It would be easy to imagine that media corporations are invulnerable to public pressure.  This view is not really true and does not mean that there is nothing that awakened, engaged Buddhist activists can do.

So what can we, as Buddhists, do ?

I feel that we can act in at least five parallel areas:-

• In raising our awareness of corporate power
• In our own attention to media outlets
• In our society and network of friends
• In challenging the realm of the media
• In the inner work needed to respond wisely

We can keep ourselves better informed from a variety of diverse media sources.  Choose a wider, more eclectic range of newspapers and reflect critically on the origins and truthfulness of media stories.  The journals “Peace News” and “Red Pepper” are good sources of news on campaigning.  Listen to different radio stations - - try BBC World Service on 648Khz in the Medium Wave for less bias and less focus on the “Punch and Judy show” of Westminster politics.  If you have a shortwave radio, tune around - you will easily find broadcasts from all around the world.  Start at around 10Mhz and tune upward by day, downward by night.  Try regularly to visit alternative media outlets online - see the links below for examples.  Use search engines to find news direct from regions of conflict and deprivation.

In our social contacts, we can form links with people whose viewpoints are different from our own.  We can also share information, literature and discussion time with our Sangha network, learning what moves others to grow in their learning and take action in the world.  The internet also gives us excellent opportunities to network with people around the world.

Perhaps the most important arena of engagement is that we can challenge directly the propaganda of the media system.  When they broadcast something that is clearly wrong or biassed, we can call or write to the broadcaster and express our concern.  Contact details are listed in the Radio Times.  We can use phone-in shows and teletext letters pages to get our message across.  Alternative views can be expressed online in USENET forums and bulletin boards.  One can write directly to people who appear in the news and who persist in promoting biassed views, copying the letter to the media outlet they use.

If you are writing to a public figure, consider copying your letter or email to a journalist or MP who takes an interest in your subject.  Tell the addressee that you are doing so.  You may find that you get a more considered and comprehensive reply.

It is also very important to express appreciation when our media get it right, as they sometimes do.  Just a short email, a postcard or hand-written note means a lot and reinforces their willingness to think outside of the popular agenda again in the future.

Another option, if an issue is not being addressed in the media, is to write to a programme maker who might be sympathetic to the cause and suggest making an edition on the issue in question.  It can work.

The essence of this article is simple:  Listen, read and watch mindfully.  Challenge the abuses.  You CAN make a difference, so go for it !

Suggested Reading

“Necessary Illusions”
Noam CHOMSKY,  Pluto Press 1989.
ISBN:  0 7453 0380 3
A powerful critique of the effects of corporate media.

“The Compassionate Revolution”
David EDWARDS, Green Books 1998.
ISBN: 1 870098 70 6
An inspiring and visionary text on radical politics and Buddhism, with a strong emphasis on media power
If you choose to read only one work from this list, I feel this should be the one - not to be missed !

“Beyond Optimism”
Ken JONES, Jon Carpenter, 1993.
ISBN:  1 897766 06 8
On freeing ourselves from ideologies and the inner work needed for engaged Buddhist activism.

“The Captive State”
George MONBIOT, Macmillan, 2000.
ISBN:  0 333 90164 9
The scary story of the corporate take-over of Britain.

Online Resources

Alternative Media website links:-

Independent Media Collective (UK)
One of a network of cooperative-run media websites giving a view of what's really going on in the world, not what the mainstream media wants you to believe.  Note the links to “sibling” groups around the world.

Z Net Online Magazine
Massive American website focussing on providing links and information for people committed to change.

Red Pepper Magazine      Peace News Magazine
Print format magazines - excellent for news of protest and cultural renewal.

Campaign website links:-

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting Campaign

Media Lens Campaign

Palestine Solidarity Campaign

THE AMIDA TRUST: Fully Engaged Buddhism for a better world