pretty picture Essays - True Respect, Dover Air Force Base

Not a Pretty Picture After reading ?Not a Pretty Picture? by Sydney H. Schanberg the outlook on war and how we as Americans get to view it for me has changed. If war is necessary then why do we shrink away from looking at the damage it causes? The government is trying to keep the bad side of war from Americans, but is shielding us from the bad side allowing us to make an informed decision on how we feel about the war. They ask us to respect those who die, but how can we have true respect for them when we can?t really grasp what they have been through. The fact that the government doesn?t allow cameras to film the amount of coffins that are unloaded everyday at the Dover Air Force Base is wrong. Americans have the right to see the outcome of the war that our soldiers are fighting. I get protecting the family?s privacy then just don?t include names, showing the coffins would have the impact that was needed. Blocking us from viewing the funeral of these soldiers is understandable, but maybe we should at least get a death count. Some might say that we are dishonoring the soldiers that have died by not recognizing them as they are coming home. What is the government trying to hide when they won?t let the press use pictures from the war of the dead and wounded. These are the type of pictures Americans need to see so we have a better appreciation for what happens in the war. By trying to hide these pictures some may say it?s the government?s way of keeping Americans in the dark. If they?re omitting certain pictures it makes you wonder what else they are leaving out of the news. We as Americans have the right to know the whole truth. Let us decide if something is too much for us or not, giving us the option to turn off the TV or closing the magazine if the images bother us. The government claims that anyone that questions the war are disloyal Americans, is insane. How we feel about the war one way or another says nothing about what type of Americans we are. Some would say being a loyal American you would want to know everything about the war good and bad. We should want journals to tell us everything that happens over there so we can get a feel for what the soldiers have to go through. The government is ?afraid of an outcry against the war, an outcry that could bring down the administration? (483). This is the last thing the government wants to happen, so they?re trying to make us feel guilty for wanting to know what is going on with the war. In the long run does the government have the right to shield us from the war? Don?t us as Americans deserve the right to decide what is too much for us to look at or hear. The presses job is to get us the news and let us have the chance to choose to turn off the TV or put down the magazine. Keeping the horror of war from us is a dishonor to those who are over there fighting in the war. Everyone?s view on too much violent is different so why not let each person decide for themselves. Letting us know the numbers of deaths by showing us how many comes home each day is a great way to honor those who have died.