Modern Heroes
October 4, 2007
Summary
Robert Kaplan, in his article “Modern Heroes” expresses his concern for the media’s portrayal of soldiers fighting in the war. He questions why there are not many stories in the news about what the soldiers are actually doing in Iraq. The result of this, he states, is that Americans understand very little about what is actually happening.
Kaplan questions why it is we forget the honor bestowed on these soldiers while there are “media frenzies” on the exposure of the wrong doings by some of the troops. Everyone remembers the wrong that they did and miss all the heroic deeds that others perform daily. Kaplan states this is why when the media tries to report news on heroic stories and soldiers it seems fake. He says this could be one of the causes of the failing nationalism and patriotism in our country: we need heroes. “Heroes are those who do great deeds that have a lasting claim to our respect.” The article states this with saying we have these types of heroes in our military. Also, it says that these heroes are ignored and forgotten.
Kaplan states that the media is actually victimizing our troops. The media is having a difficult time of respecting the soldiers even though that is all the soldiers want. In the article there is a quote from a soldier that says it is his privilege to be a warrior for his country. It goes on to say that they want to be admired for what they are doing, not for what they are suffering.
The article goes on to explain some events starting with Sept. 11, 2001. The troops were portrayed positively back then. But as the years went by, and the war became unpopular, Kaplan says that the troops were almost deserted. Our troops are not hated as they were in Vietnam; but a pitying type of love can be just as demeaning. As Kaplan states “the best units do not want love; they want respect.”
One of the results of the media’s display of disrespect and devaluation of the heroes fighting this war is a lack of nationalism and patriotism in our nation. Kaplan says that 9/11 did not change the country. It was just an interruption to the continuing decay of nationalism in our country that we should be trying to change.
Interpretation
I can relate to this article and see where Robert Kaplan is coming from when he questions the media’s response to the unpopular war. I do agree with him when he says that most people pity the troops. I find most people do not understand what the soldiers are doing in Iraq anymore. This is because of the media’s disrespectful portrayal of the troops.
The media is not reporting the war like it should be. My brother was a Marine in Iraq and served for six months there. He told me that he felt privileged to be there. I would ask him when he was in Iraq if it was really as bad as the news reports were saying. He would tell me it was not that bad because the news was not giving us the full story. The full story would have included all the good and successful stories of what was actually happening in Iraq.
People are forgetting the horrible happenings of 9/11. They are forgetting that there are men and women overseas dying while protecting us. I would think that their home country could give them a little, if not a lot of respect for what they are doing. Our soldiers want to be looked up to for what they do.
We have forgotten who fights for our freedom daily and why we have this freedom. This article has brought an understanding of how much we need to realize that the media is changing the way we see and value our heroes. It also helps us to realize that we need to be respectful of our soldiers and thankful for everything they do for us.