Dear Editor, Recently, I read an article on BBC.com reporting allegations of misconduct of a handful of United States troops toward Iraqi prisoners of war. The links I have seen are: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4033059,00.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3669331.stm
I recently went to a lecture given by Lord Parekh on the nature of political responsibility. A small space like this cannot possibly do justice to the speech he gave, but he suggested that responsibility within a democratic framework hinges on people taking stake in their government. What does that consist of? The people taking part in the process and keeping their government honest. How do we do that? By keeping up with the news, analyzing our government’s decisions, and voicing our opinions. This need for an informed public to keep the government honest highlights the critical role of information in our society. Without adequate information, the entire process becomes futile and we analyze without knowledge. While the citizens have the right to stay informed, the media also plays an enormous role in providing us with that information. In America, I feel that the media plays the entire role of providing information. The process works because the media typically provides us with information necessary to voice our opinions. In this case, I feel that a breach of that trust we have in the media has occurred. I visit Cnn.com and site for the NY Times fairly regularly. I have heard nothing of the allegations mentioned, even though cbs has showed photographs on an episode of 60 Minutes. As a college student living on a campus without television, I have had no exposure to this information whatsoever. Also, my other friends at BU and Harvard have also not had the opportunity to evaluate this report. I feel that in order to keep our government honest and to take stake in our government, providing people with the links above is of the utmost importance. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Kee Campbell
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