Margaret Krome writes: System needs a free media, uncowed opposition to work



"I have comforted myself for the past several years with the certainty that extreme polemic can only go so far. Eventually, badly conceived policies yield bad fruit; badly executed responsibilities result in tragedies, badly appointed top brass botch their jobs. And when it happens, if an electorate can to abandon its partisanship, those leaders will fail. But in the meantime a lot of people will have been hurt. To shorten the inevitable public disaffection with badly conceived policies, there must be a genuine loyal opposition in Congress, and recommitment to a reinvigorated, independent and diverse media, including increased local control over programming, more diverse and local ownership, and, for broadcast media, accountability for use of the public airwaves. " Journalist Margaret Krome served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon.

Margaret Krome writes: System needs a free media, uncowed opposition to work

Margaret Krome: System needs a free media, uncowed opposition to work
By Margaret Krome, Nov. 8, 2006

As I write on Election Day, nobody knows what news Wednesday morning will bring, other than undetermined gains for Democrats in Congress. Political analysts will debate in coming weeks how many shades of blue and red there are and what they mean.

For me, Election Day offers time to ponder the issue expected to be responsible for more electoral change than any other. The souring of the public mood about the war in Iraq raises questions about the critical roles of an independent media and a vigorous loyal opposition.

All polls suggest that the public is disillusioned with the war in Iraq. The Program on International Policy Attitudes/Knowledge Networks poll says that, going in to the election, large majorities of Americans say they want their member of Congress to work to shift the emphasis of U.S. foreign policy in favor of diplomacy, multilateral cooperation, and homeland security.

The nation that accepted the war as a means of protecting the nation, then accepted it as a means to liberate another struggling nation, then accepted it to create a democratic beachhead in the Middle East, and finally accepted it because we were there and need to support our troops, is finally rejecting it. Jingoism that whipped up public support is yielding to the reality of this war's terrible price and its utter failure to accomplish any of its goals.

Have we learned anything from these destructive years of war policy? Would the public not jump right back into supporting "our team" the next time a president and Congress bamboozles the press into supporting a climate of unswerving patriotism for a badly conceived war? I wonder if the public could agree on clear criteria for support of a war, such as :

• That it is necessary to achieve a clear and worthy goal.

• That all other means diplomacy, economic sanctions, international censure, trade have been exhausted before proposing war.

• That the goal is actually achievable.

• That the system for awarding war contracts keeps those decisions scrupulously separated from partisan politics.

But I have to wonder if we can ever be immune to war demagoguery.

It's not as though nobody spoke up as the gears of the Iraq war machine began turning four years ago. There were demonstrations around the nation and critics challenging the motives and facts of the Bush administration. Many argued that the war could gravely compromise our nation's security, and endanger our troops and harm Iraqi civilians for no cause.

The problem wasn't that these arguments never got stated, but that the major media brokers aggressively stifled them, allowing demagogues to demonize reasonable critics. With eight corporations controlling the majority of our nation's news, entertainment and information, true debate could not occur.

Similarly, with both houses of Congress controlled by the same party as the president, there was no meaningful chance for resistance. Democrats became cornered and afraid of being labeled weak on security.

Perhaps this election will prove to be one of the big electoral swings that happen from time to time. If so, its value should be judged partly by whether it ends a period that has come close to stifling true debate and democratic decision-making.

I have comforted myself for the past several years with the certainty that extreme polemic can only go so far. Eventually, badly conceived policies yield bad fruit; badly executed responsibilities result in tragedies, badly appointed top brass botch their jobs. And when it happens, if an electorate can to abandon its partisanship, those leaders will fail.

But in the meantime a lot of people will have been hurt. To shorten the inevitable public disaffection with badly conceived policies, there must be a genuine loyal opposition in Congress, and recommitment to a reinvigorated, independent and diverse media, including increased local control over programming, more diverse and local ownership, and, for broadcast media, accountability for use of the public airwaves.

Margaret Krome is a Madison resident who writes this column every other week. E-mail: mkrome@inxpress.net
Published: November 8, 2006

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: November, 2006; RPCV Margaret Krome (Cameroon); COS - Cameroon; Journalism; Speaking Out; Wisconsin

When this story was posted in November 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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Election 2006: Results of RPCV Races Chris Shays claims victory in closely watched race Jim Walsh wins re-election to Congress in close race Tom Petri unopposed for re-election to Congress Sam Farr wins re-election to Congress Mike Honda wins re-election to Congress Jim Doyle wins re-election to Wisconsin Governorship Kinky Friedman loses in long shot bid for Texas Governor John Garamendi elected Lt. Governor of California

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Harris Wofford to speak at "PC History" series Senator Harris Wofford will be the speaker at the 4th Annual "Peace Corps History" series on November 16 sponsored by the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Maryland Returned Volunteers. Previous speakers in the series have included Jack Vaughn (Second Director of the Peace Corps), Scott Stossel (Biographer of Sargent Shriver), and C. Payne Lucas (President Emeritus of Africare). Details on the time and location of the event are available here.

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October 22, 2006: This Month's Top Stories The crisis over North Korea's nuclear bomb test 14 Oct Hill faced strong opposition for denuclearization agreement 8 Oct John Coyne writes: The first Peace Corps book 20 Oct Thomas Tighe moderates discussion with President Clinton 17 Oct PC announces Community College degree program 18 Oct Donna Shalala expresses dismay over football brawl 16 Oct Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley defends Lebanon policy 16 Oct Jan Guifarro elected Chair of NPCA Board 15 Oct Carl Pope writes: From the pump to the polls 13 Oct Ambassador Gaddi Vasquez Says Africa a Priority 12 Oct Chris Dodd opposes Bush terrorism bill 10 Oct Isaac Edvalson is founder of Africa's Tomorrow 9 Oct The Man who turned down Shriver 8 Oct Mae Jemison tells girls to reach for the stars 6 Oct Loren Finnell receives Shriver Award 4 Oct Matt Sesow paints onstage during opera 2 Oct Film examines anti-malaria drug lariam 29 Sep Blackwill dismisses Musharraf's claims 27 Sep Ron Tschetter sworn in as 17th Peace Corps Director 26 Sep Rape Victim Student Gets $1 Million From City College 26 Sep Ricardo Chavira narrates Public Service Announcements 25 Sep

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The Peace Corps Library The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory or leave a message on our Bulletin Board. New: Sign up to receive our free Monthly Magazine by email, research the History of the Peace Corps, or sign up for a daily news summary of Peace Corps stories. FAQ: Visit our FAQ for more information about PCOL.

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Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

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