Remember that classic photograph of the sailor embracing the woman in a kiss at Times Square on VJ Day? We might want to send a copy of it to some of the reporters covering the now ubiquitous "Honor Flights" that carry Veterans of WWII to see the WWII Memorial in Washington. This weekend I heard a reporter exclaim how great it was that the Veterans of World War Two were finally getting the praise they deserve. Excuse me? Not to take anything away from the men and women who fought in that war, but how and when did I miss us ignoring their bravery? In virtually every city and town in the United States there are monuments to their incredible victory over Japan and Germany. (Go to Google Images and search under WWII monuments.) The much-published photo of the kiss was taken at a huge celebration at the end of the war in Times Square. There were similar celebrations everywhere, and returning soldiers and sailors were greeted, as they should have been, as heroes. The fact that there wasn't a specific monument to the overall war itself doesn't take away from the extraordinary outpouring of thanks that was and is still expressed for their sacrifice. Here's what's going on. The Media, especially TV, needs heroes. They love stories about bravery. Reporters have virtual herorgasms in telling stories in which a hero is involved, even if they have to create heroism. So imagine the opportunity to actually travel with some of the remaining WWII Veterans to finally see their bravery recognized! Sorry, but it you want forgotten Vets? Try Korea. (Yes, there was a war there too, Mr. Reporter.) Or Vietnam. No parades there either. My Father was a Veteran of WWII. He and all of the men and women who won that war deserve our praise. But they don't deserve to be made a prop in some TV News Department's quest for hero-journalism.
[Note: the photo I'm using is not the photo of the kiss...this one was take at the same time of the same event by a U.S. Navy photographer, and thus is in the public domain.]
[ADDENDUM: The State of TV revenue, according to a story in Variety, while another story tells of declining revenue at the Network TV level.]
[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog]
My dad, whom is still living, served aboard the USS Juneau (CLAA-119) - also known as "The Galloping Ghost of the Korean Coast" - during the Korean War.
ReplyDeleteHis voluntary service was a life transforming event. Not only during his service was he quite literally (there's your "Literal Watch," Tim) shown much of the world, the classic arts and cultures of Italy, Japan, numerous nations in Africa, Asia, Europe, etc., his life values were reinforced.
In example, I - quite literally (there's more "Literal Watch") owe my life to Auburn. For it was while attending that university upon the G.I. Bill after his two voluntary enlistment tours of duty, that Daddy met Mama.
Daddy has shared with me that, nearing the time of his graduation from high school, he asked his father's opinion about joining the Navy. Having been given his father's blessing, saying, "I think it's a good idea. Maybe you won't have to work as hard as I have," Daddy enlisted.
For him, it was a practical decision, for not only did he regularly send money home to his impoverished parents and siblings during his service, he viewed service as a way of helping himself.
Practical reason, that is, our capacity to act, to decide what we do, is a matter of value judgment. It answers the question, 'What should I do?' Toward that extent, values are not subjective.
The late C.S. Lewis, a close friend of J.R.R. Tolkein, wrote "If a man will go into a library and spend a few days with the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics he will soon discover that massive unanimity of the practical reason in man. From the Babylonian Hymn to Samos, from the Laws of Manu, the Book of the Dead, the Analects, the Stoics, the Platonists, from Australian aborigines and Redskins, he will collect the same triumphantly monotonous denunciations of oppression, murder, treachery and falsehood, the same injunctions of kindness to the aged, the young, and the weak, of almsgiving and impartiality and honesty."
Humans are not mere brute beasts, subject to some primordial "law of the jungle," where "kill or be killed" is the fear-based byword. That we care about "the least of these my brethren," that we stand up for truth, demand justice, and require accountability is part and parcel of who we are.
Therefore, stories of heroism, of the defeat of an enemy - often greater than oneself - of the individual and a group, tells us about ourselves. It reinforces the ideals of justice, honor, truth and sacrifice - the relinquishing of something good or valuable for the betterment of another or others.
When subjectivism arises, heroes are killed. When objectivity reigns, those whom give themselves are rightly honored, because they do not for themselves, but for others.