Blog Post #7: Reflection on ANTIWAR.COM and the conservative

The Hidden Voices of Dissent: Antiwar perspectives are hard to find and may be enshrined in the First Amendment, but there are precious few powerful antiwar voices. Military interventions are debated but critical perspectives rarely penetrate. That's a reality that independent voices at Antiwar.com and The American Conservative. For that reason, this must start with what should be but isn't exactly a rhetorical question: why does one almost never see anti-war views in regular news?

Media and the Promotion of a Narrative

Most large news organizations source their war news from deep government sources; as such, most of the reports do more to promote the government's interests than question them. FAIR reports that many media companies have financial ties to the defense industry. Immediately, this creates a huge conflict of interest for the mainstream organizations in publishing or airing robust anti-war views. reported that during the The Columbia Journalism Review on the Iraq War, those few journalists who did question government motives were ignored, or even fired, to discourage further dissent.

Independent Journalism is Important

Sites like Antiwar.com, and The American Conservative-these will provide rich critique of U.S. foreign policy, and thereby give opinions and views that the mainstream often neglects. Investigative organizations such as Democracy Now! and The Intercept give faces to war: focus attention on the deeply personal cost of war and explorations of diplomatic ways out. These sources, in a word, are independent-more so than all the others the public wants. The Stigma of Antiwar Views Since 9/11, any lack of patriotism was equated with questioning U.S. military action; the stigma inhibited politicians, journalists, and even ordinary people from speaking their minds against war. As a result, military intervention often seems to be not an issue up for debate. True holistic understanding of world conflicts is obtained only when diverse perspectives about global conflicts are taken onboard in a proactive manner. We believe in independent journalism, critically look at mainstream narratives, and thus protect freedom of speech, encouraging informed public discourse.