Commentary by TrueDialog.org's Founder, Carl Lindemann

July 31 - Authenticity & Matters of State

Closing out the first month, some 7,000 words later....

While I'm primarily focused on state-level activities, the month ahead looks to be an important turning point for the country as a whole. We have some important decisions to make about Iraq. The war of words is on to decide what's right. Will we be able to separate reality from spin to make the best choice? 

This interesting piece in the New York Times gives a sample of the hopeful "framing" that is coming forward. The authors, Michael E O'Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack, present themselves "as two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq..." So, having experienced this dismay and disillusionment suddenly find themselves "surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily 'victory' but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with."

This fits the classic three-part sales formula for pitching anything from vacuum cleaners to used cars: 

1. I know how you feel. 

2. I felt the same way, too. 

3. Then I found out.

Apparently, O'Hanlon and Pollack know how many Americans feel about Iraq. They felt the same way, too. But now that they know the reality, no need to worry about this.  

Perhaps. 

Recently, I had an odd "fast forward" experience in terms of the media coverage of Iraq that makes me skeptical. Over two years ago, I stopped watching the cable news channels. The other week, I was waiting for a table at a restaurant and CNN was on.  It struck me that the general structure of the stories was nearly identical to what was on when I left off. Footage of the day's carnage in Iraq was followed by some hopeful context communicating "this may look bad, but things are actually looking up!"  

The problem here is that the "frame" seems to take priority over the facts.  The formulaic storytelling raises doubts about how much reality is seeping through. The changing, often contrary facts keep filling in the same story line until it becomes impossible to continue. The distance between reality and the fantasy finally becomes too great. By then, the reality is far worse than if we'd managed to disabuse ourselves of the fantasy earlier.  

Well, that's how I feel, anyway. Do you feel the same way too?  Let me know so I can find out...

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