Wednesday, September 26, 2012
opening remarks...
Baghdad Burning is an amazing read and I actually kick myself for not knowing about the book already! I am not the most well read person by no means. But when it comes to Iraq and the war I do take a special interest and in some aspects it hits home directly. As I read into Riverbends world she has resurfaced so many issues that are either misunderstood or misconstrued by the media
I have known for years how much the government lies to the American people and or just left crucial parts of the truth out of a headliner. But it never fails to blow my mind over and over again. This book re breaks my heart but yet lifts my spirits at the same time. For one, it always disturbs me how people can use so much power to do so much damage out of pure greed. On the other hand I love that we live in an age now that we can shout back at the injustice we face without repercussions (such as blogging). Although Riverbend stays anonymous for her safety as well as her family's, she is fighting back with words about her peoples suffering. Her words are so much more powerful. In my mind I see how a bullet of a weapon fired can only travel a certain distance for impact, but words have no boundaries and no limit to the amount of impact that can be achieved. I know personally so many people that have prejudice stereotypes against the Iraqi people and she breaks all of them to pieces just with her literacy alone. Really, she puts allot of those same people that criticize and belittle Iraqi's to shame because I bet 2 to 1 they would need a dictionary on the side to reference!! lol
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This was a well written post in response to Riverbend's Baghdad Burning. I agree with a lot of what you say; our media is able to select what the populous sees and chooses the truth for us. It is a shame that things like that which are supposed to be free speech and informative are so easily corrupted and that power and greed can control us. Riverbend does indeed break many stereotypes we as a society may have of Iraqis. She certainly opened my eyes wide open and I have learned so much about her people, their culture and what they must endure hour by hour, day by day. (P.S. The dictionary comment made me giggle!)
ReplyDeleteI know we aren't supposed to say this buuttt this was just a well written post all around. I was reading it and was nodding my head the entire time because I agree with everything you said wholeheartedly! The media has such a huge impact on society today. I can say that with confidence because I recently just left my teenaged years and I can honestly say that I have always always always believed what the media said, but I was taught to growing up. Reading this book made me change my perspective on the media completely. The media is very bias and leaves much information out to the public.
ReplyDeleteThis post is very good and I definitely agree with what you are saying. The media has impacted society greatly in many different ways and this only shows one way. I couldn't agree more with "words are more powerful." This book not only allows us to feel what she had gone through but to also perceive it through another's eyes. This gives us the chance to push media away for a second and get someone else's perspective.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this post. I like how you said that words can in some ways be more powerful than a bullet. It really sums up what this book is all about, a woman who amidst all the chaos and tragedy can write about her struggles and share it with the world so that everyone can learn what's going on in Iraq from the inside.
ReplyDeleteThe media has a huge impact on society. We listen to the news everyday and believe everything the news says regardless if its true or not. We are only able to see what our country is facing at war, but to look at life from the other side is completely overwhelming feeling. I honestly never realized their problems that the iraq faced just because i had no knowledge about it because society doesn't talk about it, but to read more in depth based on this book you can look at the whole picture.
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