Picture Perfect?

Last week we met with Louis Masur, professor of American Institutions and Values at Trinity College. He talked with us about the importance of photographs in our society, and how one picture can shift the beliefs and convictions of millions. Masur’s prime example of this was a photograph taken in 1976 of a white man attacking a black man with an American flag at a rally in Boston. The image is stunning, with the attacker about to spear the helpless man with the flag’s pole. Masur talked about how the photo not only sparked the interest of millions in America, but it also put into question the progress of race relations in our country.

This is just one of millions of pictures that have shaped American history, but sometimes the American government doesn’t want certain images to be seen. This is what is occurring right now, as President Obama is refusing to release images of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated or hurt by American soldiers. The President, who months earlier told the public that he would not withhold war photos like George Bush, changed his mind last week when government officials convinced him that the photos would be harmful to the soldiers and would not help the cause in Iraq. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are furious at Obama’s decision to withhold the photographs, saying the public has a right to see them and judge the pictures for themselves. This is not the first time in the Iraq War that controversial photos have surfaced. Five years ago at the Abu Ghraib prison, several photos were taken that showed soldiers physically and sexually abusing and humiliating Iraqi prisoners of war. The pictures caused a backlash against the military and put the cause of the war back into question. Now, as Obama seeks to conceal these new photos, Americans are wondering if the President could be accused of using the same tactics of lies and deceit as George Bush.

Back in 1971, the Supreme Court had to decide whether or not to release secret documents containing information about the Vietnam War. The court ruled that the documents should be released because the defense that “[people] could get hurt from the release of the papers” was not compelling enough proof. Obama is using that same defense to keep the photos under wraps, and officials think the courts will eventually make the same decision they did 38 years ago. “What Obama cites as dangers, a court might find mere speculation,” said an ACLU lawyer. And in the case of the Pentagon papers almost forty years ago, the papers were eventually published, but no soldiers or Americans were harmed. This legal precedent could hurt Obama’s chances of keeping the photos secret.

I don’t know if Masur with agree with Obama’s decision to withhold the photographs from the press. But what I am sure of is that Masur would tell Obama that the impact of these photos would extend far beyond the individuals who committed the crimes against the prisoners. Hatred would be directed toward the entire military force in Iraq for letting this atrocity happen. The Obama administration would be under pressure to explain why they had tried to cover them up, and Obama himself would take a lot of the heat. So would any good come out of releasing these photos? I believe the anger already associated with Iraq would only become more intense, and our country would be further divided—especially in view of Obama’s strong stand. Maybe this is one time an image could stir up more emotion and controversy than our country can handle, especially on the world stage. Maybe those images are best left alone.

The Real Ron Kovic

In “Born on the Fourth of July,” we witnessed Ron Kovic’s struggle to overcome his devastating injury in Vietnam. On January 20, 1968, Kovic was hit by a Viet Cong bullet that left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Kovic fought to stay alive, and was eventually brought to a veteran’s hospital in the Bronx. The hospital was awful, with “rats on the ward, paralyzed men lying in their own excrement, pushing call buttons for aides who never came,” recalls Kovic. The Vietnam veteran and former Marine battled insomnia and anxiety attacks for years. The boy from Massapequa, Long Island, who wanted to fight for his country so badly found himself spiraling downward into deep depression. As Kovic puts it, “I don’t how I got through the day. It was terrible. It was almost impossible.”

But in 2006, almost forty years after that fateful day in Vietnam, Ron Kovic is a new man. He is still in a wheelchair, but he has a new outlook on life and his injury. Kovic is now an anti-war advocate, and in the article, “The Forgotten Wounded of Iraq,” he relates his own story to the experiences of soldiers injured in Iraq. Kovic talks about how, just like in the 1960’s, the government [under the Bush administration] is not spending enough time or money on veteran’s hospitals. Conditions are below health standards, but the government continues to cut back millions of dollars in funds for these facilities. Much of this money is being siphoned to create new weapons and war technology, so American soldiers will be able to kill and injure more people.

Kovic is on a mission to spread the word about injured Iraq War veterans, whom he believes are being censored out of the news by people who don’t want Americans to see what’s really happening to soldiers in Iraq. “The soldiers are returned to Dover Air Force Base in the darkness of night as [the Bush] administration continues to pursue a policy of censorship, tightly controlling the images…and rarely ever allowing the human cost of its policy to be seen,” he explains. Following his injury in Vietnam, Kovic felt used and betrayed by the government. Now, he wants to prevent young men and women from making the same mistake he did by revealing the truth about Iraq.

Kovic once woke up miserable every day because of his injury. But today, the veteran sees his condition as a “blessing in disguise.” Kovic explains that his wound gave him a new perspective on life and war, one that he never would have known had he gotten out of Vietnam unscathed. He believes it is now his duty to tell his story, showing what it really means to “sacrifice for your country.” He is an anti-war activist, and has spoken at such events as the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

A once bitter, angry man is now an inspiration to millions who believe that war is not the answer. As Kovic says: “We must break this cycle of violence and begin to move in a different direction; war is not the answer, violence is not the solution. A more peaceful world is possible.” Hopefully the new administration will listen. He’s been living that same message now for 40 years.