An Alternate Reality

"What this country needs is a return to normalcy," writes New York Times economist Paul Krugman. "And I don't mean the selective normalcy the Bush administration wants, in which everyone goes shopping but the media continue to report only inspiring stories and war news. It's time to give the American people the whole picture." He notes that "most Americans get their news from TV. And what they see is heartwarming -- a picture of a nation behaving well in a time of crisis. Indeed, the vast majority of Americans have been both resolute and generous. But that's not the whole story, and the images TV doesn't show are anything but heartwarming. A full picture would show politicians and businessmen behaving badly, with this bad behavior made possible -- and made worse -- by the fact that these days selfishness comes tightly wrapped in the flag." News dissector Danny Schechter agrees, adding, "The fact that discussion on this has begun inside big media is encouraging. It is now up to the rest of us to jump into the debate and push it deeper."