The Power of One Person's Story
Here we have Abdul Rahman who converted to Christianity 15 years ago, came back to Afghanistan in recent years and was almost hanged for apostasy. (How often do you get to use THAT word?)
I'm glad the guy got out alive. The Pope even came to his rescue. But this really highlights to me the bizarre nexxus of government and personal PR. From Terri Schiavo to Elian Gonzales to Abdul Rahman (hey, aren't popes involved in all these stories?), we have governments waking up and smelling the coffee time and time again for one person who has a publicity machine behind them, conveniently ignoring the larger issues the stories represent.
It sure was easier to tell the story of the warring Schiavo factions than it is to deal with end of life issues and Americans' fear of death. It was easier to strong-arm the Afghan government to let this guy off and have him whisked away to Italy than it is to deal with the fact that we're building and paying for a government there that doesn't believe in religious freedom.
I guess with a president who constantly reminds us that what he's doing "is hard work!!" we can't really expect him or his cronies to really DO the hard work of diplomacy or good governance that's required to fix these things. And of course I LOVED his coming back from vacation early to sign into law the Terri Schiavo Interference with the Will of the Coma Victim law. That was hard work that played well to his base.
So it annoys me when his ilk blames everything on the media, when we're learning time and time again that if you don't get media, you don't get attention from your elected leaders. Media = power if you don't have money. And if you've got religion on your side, you can surely get the contributions to pay for the media attention.
It seems the answer to all our problems is to get one person who's a great example of every issue facing us, then have a tragedy befall them, then call the Today Show.
There. That's my expert advice today. Go forth and spin.
posted by dcnative @ 11:04 AM
2 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Really interesting blog about iceland omega 3. In a similar vain to iceland omega 3, I've found the richest, purest omega-3 EFP fish oil supplement on the market. My health has improved dramatically - both physical and mental. I've been taking MorEPA now for about 6 months and I cannot emphasize how much this supplement have helped me to cope with anxiety and depression. The supplements can be ordered from **wwwomega3.com**. I'd also recommend daily exercise.
Post a Comment
<< Home