It seems that the majority of the media's attention has been glued to the situation in Syria for the past several months and with good reason. Syria has been the latest in a string of Arab Spring uprisings that has threatened to pull the United States into yest another conflict. Last week, the entire world held its breath as the United States government considered military strikes against Syrian government targets after the alleged chemical weapons attacks. At the end of deliberations with congress and the Russians, however, President Obama opted to not take action against the Assad regime.
Now that American intervention in Syria seems unlikely, the mass media has largely shifted its focus away from Syria and towards domestic troubles. Some of the most notable stories have been the recent shootings in Chicago, Miley Cyrus, and the House of Representative's vote to defund Obamacare. Im concerned that the injustices in Syria may be forgotten by the ADD American public, much like the plight of the Palestinians has been. Despite the complexities of the situation, such as who in the rebel movement is affiliated with Al Quaida and whether or not the Assad regime can be allowed to endure after the atrocities against its own people, America must not completely remove itself from the situation. With the staunch backing of Russia, Assad's overthrow by the rebels is unlikely. If this comes to pass, the Assad regime must not be allowed to continue as it did when Bashar's father crushed uprisings in the 70s. The American people must remain invested in the Syrian civil war if we are to effect any positive changes. For this to be possible, however, the media must not abandon the topic.
There is definitely no doubt that the issues in Syria have been plaguing the US. Ultimately we decided not to strike against Syria but one thing I alluded to in my blogs was how we tend to put more emphasis on ulterior moves and motives than firm explanation of benefits and consequences of different changes that could occur and sometimes don't take into consideration the poeple as a whole especially when it comes to media. We tend to try to impose democracy on other countries while our model of democracy and the coverage of it can be quite flawed. Like you mentioned, we tend to lose interest in things once they pass and unless media keeps following up on stories regardless of when the BIG issues are over then we lose track of the potential benefits or consequences with them. The Syria issue isn't over, we just decided not to strike but it still has its impact and unless we keep that in the forefront on International Affairs then we lose track until something happens. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the issues in Syria are very important and should not be forgotten. I feel as if you are referring to the "out of sight, out of mind" dilemma that so many of us experience when it comes to politics. The media really controls what American's pay attention to as far as the government is concerned. Most political issues do not affect the day to day lives of American citizens, but they are still important. Therefore, we rely on the media to wake us up and tell us about the issues so we can remain active and informed. If the media abandons and issue then it is likely to be forgotten by the people. I think citizens should be more active in influencing what we hear in the media. Personally, I would much rather have news coverage on Syria than Miley Cyrus!
ReplyDeleteSo, it's been a while since this story dominated the headlines. Do you think the press has stayed on the story? Or has it slipped on to other more titillating topics?
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