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Show Thursday, January The Daily Utah Chronicle - Page Eight 7, 1991 Salt Laie Cnw Feature ulftaDk: wac Is Students wonder about amount of propaganda By Gregory Tmlmont Chronicle Feature Writer pea, "i,, also peace rallies and "No Blood For Oil" posters abounding. One is likely to be confronted with someone BLESS else's opinion wherever they venture. Propaganda The sun rises over the Wasatch is everywhere; it is information Mountains every morning. It sheds geared at persuasion rather than its light on University of Utah presenting straight fact. How this students making their way to classes, propaganda is perceived by a person It illuminates a peaceful place. is as varied as the individual and his or her personal Salt Though Lake City is not experiences. Ellen Mitchell, a of devoid Lake Salt Though skies its problems, City is not devoid of student majoring in are free of thunderEnglish, has doubts missiles, problems, its skies ing non-tradition- are free of thundering missiles, artillery fire and the wail of warplanes. artillery fire and the wail warplanes. sun of The also illuminates a place full of strife each day, the Persian Gulf. And were it not for the media, this war would seem a world away. The advent of the information age has given the world instant access to the Gulf War. It also has brought instant access to propaganda. Every day you hear pro-Unite- d States messages on the TV and radio. Even gas stations have gotten into the action by posting banners which support the U.S. troops; there are love Is hate al concerning the information the U.S. population receives concerning the war. She feels the information that Americans receive through news that a lot reports is nothing but propaganda. In one instance where she questioned a government report, the journalist asked the official if any of the American deaths in a ground battle at Khafji, Saudi Arabia, were caused by friendly fire. "He just danced around the question without ever answering anything," Mitchell said. "President r.i I i U tv : fr- , - .v- - jki Many national and local business, such as this Rainbo Oil Company gas station located at 176 S. 1300 East, have put up signs supporting the U. S. effort in the Persian Gulf War. Bush also seems to dance around and dodge some questions concerning the war." She also remains doubtful of some of the political posturing found in speeches. "President Bush calls Saddam Hussein the next Hitler. I don't believe that is really truthful. I do believe that the war is over oil," she said. Mitchell expresses a degree of discontent with the television news which comprises the greatest medium that this crisis is exposed through. "I have recently stopped watching television coverage of the crisis like CNN. It became too much; I had to turn it off. It has really become like a game for many people. have people Many become desensitized." Mitchell added that she prefers to gather her information from the printed media. She also has trepidations about the way many Americans react to war. "People are far too willing to send the country to war and then put up yellow ribbons and flags. It is all too campy for me," she said. Mitchell is doubtful of some demon- peace strators and their actions, believing that their actions are also a form of propaganda. She said that "flipping peace signs and yelling to people at demonstrations might not be the best way to affect changes." An active Vietnam protester in the 60s, she now prefers "educated and protesting eloquent speeches to screaming in the streets." She would rather now "I have been part of a negative campaign, and it has a devastating effect on the troops' morale," he said. Mitchell and Mills have both seen, from differing sides of the philosophical fence, a war situation and its effects upon America. Today's youth, however, is new to the huge amount of propaganda that is circulating. Members of today's generation propaganda, sentiments and the media's blasts the coverage of every little bad thing tended to disrupt the war. I also disagree in views of propaganda. Todd their Elledge, a political science major, is not critical in his views of war propaganda. He accepts a great deal of the official American stance on the war. I "Normally didn 't like the war; it believe about 70 was a useless situation percent of what is said. If a claim was in which people died made that the U.S. " for no purpose, Zell had bombed and Mills, a U. English destroyed the Iraqi " I think Guard said. Republican major, forces in Kuwait, my discontent with the then I would war was an outgrowth assume that a large of the vast negativisms amount of damage had been done," he at the time. " veteran of the Vietnam War, Mills has formed his opinions about the current conflict through his experiences in Vietnam. "When I got back from Vietnam, the anti-wpropaganda, sentiments and the media's blasts the coverage of every little bad thing tended to disrupt the war. I didn't like the war; it was a useless situation in which people died for no purpose. I think my discontent with the war was an outgrowth of the vast negativisms at the time." Mills makes a distinction between the two conflicts. "I think public awareness is good, but with this war I feel there is a common cause. I feel there is some validity in it, but a ar ar ar She also "prays a lot." Zell Mills, an English major, also has opinions concerning current war A great deal of the news has centered on anti-wdemonstrations. It is my we have a right to that opinion dissent, but once the Congress votes, we have an obligation to support their decision." He said that negative propaganda does more harm than good and that national unity is a necessity. "When I got back from Vietnam, the anti-w- in participate candle vigils and intelligent discussions concerning the issue. propaganda. v said. "But they never cause as much damage as they say they do." As for the rhetorical stance taken by the U.S. government, Elledge feels that "they believe that what they say is true. I don't believe that they are feeding us pure propaganda. When Bush gives reasons for the bombing of Iraqi I think he feels he is being truthful with the American public. "I believe that they are giving us the real reasons for being in the Gulf. I don't feel that there is a hidden agenda," he added. In explaining why he views the current situation as he does, Elledge said that he is a militant person and always has been, and he supports the war effort. "Countries who engage in aggression like Iraq should get their butts kicked," he said. A very different stance is taken by see "propaganda" on page nine "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," by Anita Siegel |
