It took less than almost no time at all. Jill Carroll's release from her three-month captivity in Iraq immediately prompted observers to wonder about her innocence, with insinuations abundant that the story is far more than what meets either eye or ear. Something fishy is going on, or so buzzes the lines of the infoplanet. I am glad to say that I will not add speculation to the augury; visitors eager for rumor-mongering here will be disappointed by my reticence.
Minutes ago Boston talk radio personalities Jim Braude and Margery Eagan scoffed at the instant-on rumor mill; Braude lamented the lack of trust and restraint in the whole story. Additionally he felt that the best thing for all observers to do is wait for clarity, for presently we "simply do not know." And what we don't know should give us pause.
Where does the cynicism come from? Why is the blogosphere revved up by this sort of story? Is it that bloggers again are looking for something to "out" or "expose", like the CBS 60 Minutes story based on clearly forged documents back in 2004? Are certain bloggers hoping to become the story themselves, taking the front page away from a person whose release from captivity is above-the-fold news in most of the nation's newspapers? Is one blogger hoping to make news that he broke the story from his laptop while lunching at Panera Bread? Is this cynicism the legacy of our culture, where everything, including grief, is political and politicizable (if that's a word); where authority is doubted at every turn? Is this all the Watergate legacy, with earnest writers working for the next big blockbuster and everyone doubting whatever is offered as true?
Let it be said that much of the cynicism is born of the news media themselves. For too many journalists have fooled us, have defrauded us of our trust, and their profession of its integrity. Jason Blair at the New York Times did us no favors. Dan Rather did little to make us trust the news; photographer Brian Walski of the LA Times reminded us that photography is a manipulative medium. Even if corruption of the news (and the deception of our senses) happens infrequently, it is the exceptions that remain with us, a fact consistent with news itself, where only anomalies are reported. We don't usually remember the things that go right; we remember the things that have gone wrong. And at critical times in recent history the news media have gone very wrong. Sadly, they still do.
So this is the mental milieu within which Jill Carroll's kidnapping and release is to be poked and prodded. The scepticism is not of her making (I assume, of course), nor is it mine or yours. It is the result of over-reaching, over-zealous journalists intent on fudging reality for personal gain. One hopes that Ms. Carroll's life over the last 3 months has not been a work of fiction authored by her. I doubt that she would be so opportunistic.
Peace.
©Bill Gnade 2006/Contratimes - All Rights Reserved.
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