This is the lead headline on CNN this morning:
Democracy finds hope in Iraqi town
The concept of democracy appears to have taken root in the dusty town of Karma, a predominantly Sunni community just north of Falluja -- the city at the center of fierce fighting last year. Although most say they don't know who the candidates are or where to go to vote, they say they will vote come January 30 -- for a variety of candidates for a variety of reasons.
Is it any wonder that I don't like the American press? This headline may be the worst piece of tripe I've ever seen - I'm almost embarrased for CNN. I wonder if I had turnd the sound on if I would have heard some stirring music. I'm actually finding it difficult to try and condense my disdain for CNNs so-called 'reporting' into coherent sentences, because I'm so disgusted.So, instead, I'll discuss what the headline could have said, because as it turns out the article, shockingly, is more than just words freighted with emotional charge. It is basically a report on a particular Iraqi town that was visited by the Americans to guage whether or not people would vote. One gets the impression from the article that they are visiting many towns. So the headline could have included something about this - "Across Iraq, soldiers guage popular support for upcoming elections". They also omit the fact that people in many places (even in this city their story focuses on) seem equally or more happy to talk about the electricity that doesn't work than about the elections.
But they didn't include any of that information on the front. Why they didn't just title the article "Let Freedom Ring" or some other nationalist sentiment is beyond me - since it's clear they've already sold their souls, they might just as well.