I fully agree with Mr. Sawyer that the media in not presenting full coverage of the war and that there is a powerful propaganda system in play — but not as he suggests (“Media not presenting full coverage of war,” Jan. 4). While I respect his perspective, his “answer” is not simple. It does not do this nation or our service members and their families any good to focus on the negative. We have made progress in Iraq — under Saddam’s rule there were well over 100 civilians a day that would be found dead; since our involvement, that number has dropped to 20 — while not perfect, it is progress. We are losing fewer troops as well. But this isn’t the point. Whether the war ends tomorrow, whether one agrees or disagrees doesn’t matter. It is what it is — I suggest we as a country focus on solutions. We have an obligation to care for those who have answered their call to duty and have chosen to represent this country by serving in our military. So instead of providing a week of “negative,” imagine if the media spent a week focusing on what resources, programs and tools are made available to our service members and their families. Imagine if every American over the age of 20 dedicated $2/day for the next 48 months toward veteran needs, we would raise over $600 billion to care for the needs of our veterans of the global war on terror. I agree with Mr. Sawyer, our media is powerful; let’s use it to educate and empower where it will have the most benefit.
Mike Schindler
Edmonds
www.operationmilitaryfamily.org
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