Letters
Graphic war images should not be censored
Regarding the March 25 opinion piece "War isn't pretty, nor is news of it": I appreciate your analysis of the pros and cons of showing graphic photos of war casualties. I support having the US press publish such images. When I learned that the US media withheld photos of Sunday's casualties and prisoners, I was deeply offended. I do not like having a medium I depend upon making decisions of that sort for me. The need for the public to be able to evaluate uncensored data on the war in order to form opinions is greater than the need to protect the families of war casualties from glimpses of their relatives in the media.
Ann Carter
Stamford, Conn.
Regarding your March 25 article: "World and America watching different wars": I wanted to note that here in Canada, the CBC has also been showing the video of the POWs, although not the images of dead US soldiers. French-language CBC has shown those pictures as well. The CBC has also included a report on the fact that though the US is calling the images a violation of the Geneva Convention, the US has no problem showing surrendering Iraqi soldiers in humiliating positions, and also showed the Guantánamo Bay prisoners.
I find it refreshing to get a more rounded, but still respectful picture from at least some of our media (our US-owned channels haven't been able to get the video from their parent companies). It is not only the Arab world or Europe, but America's closest neighbors who can see the bias in US coverage - and, frankly, it fuels skepticism about war aims, which may have been a reason Canada decided to refrain from supporting this war.
Susan Thompson
Peace River, Alberta
US media seem less and less free as time progresses. To prove so, one has only to change the TV channels and watch the news shows report the same issues, unfortunately in the same manner.
US reporters and news organizations have a duty to report, and instead they have undertaken the role of being both judge and jury.
Under a dictatorship that is to be expected. However, in a democracy it is reprehensible.
Aymen Shawar
Breckenridge, Colo.
I watch eight different news channels and find that the bias you are talking about does not exist in CNN and American broadcasting. As an Englishman, I have to suffer masses of anti-American propaganda from the BBC.
Ged Dodd Keighley, England
I would love to have an independent news source that will not toe the political party line for whichever American is in power. This vacuum of credibility in reporting is staggering. The powers that be need to be aware the world is watching.
Jevon Peck
Eugene, Ore.
Regarding your March 25 article: "Classroom neutrality": As a 30-year high school classroom veteran, I am very aware of the problem today's teachers face in bringing their own views to the classroom. It shows that little has changed regarding society's view of teachers. A few enlightened districts respect the rights of their teachers, and in return get the very best from those teachers. Their personal views are expressed as part of a continuum of shared ideas. The ideas are examined for merit, and the students learn a living lesson on what it takes to be a citizen in a democratic society.
David Bean
Cincinnati
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