Context Piece (Wag The Dog - Whose Reality)

[Leezy]

Hey AN, was wondering if someone could help correct my context essay haha

Thanks 

“The consequences of not facing up to reality are severe”

The Guardian [Politics]
Remembering 9/11: The Art of Subtle Persuasion
By Barry Redmond 12/09/15

It is our choice whether or not we should meet and acknowledge the truth, yet it is undeniable that the consequences of ignoring it are severe. Back in 2001, I was in New York for a lecture at NYU. I was due to head back to Los Angeles, on September the 11th. Albeit not being harmed, I had a first hand experience of 9/11, witnessing the proudly erect Twin Towers reduced to rubble in just a matter of seconds. To retaliate against the terrorists, we expanded our conquest in the Middle East under the façade of a War on Terror, showering countries with ample amounts of “democracy” in the form of bullets and missiles with the wholehearted support of us Americans as we were blinded from the facts with our rage.

What did I learn from this madness? Was it that Al Qaeda were the bad guys and America were the good? No. Vice Versa? Not quite. It was the power of influence that the media had over people. With a couple of words, the media was able to influence the thoughts of people, and when combined with a natural tendency for humans to prefer an attractive lie over an undesirable, yet evident truth, the ramifications could be severe.

Exactly on this day 14 years ago, the headline on our newspaper was “THE DECLARATION OF WAR” alongside a visual depicting a colossal hole blown into one of the Twin Towers. We were not the only ones, as we were only one of the many newspaper publications pointing the finger of blame at Al Qaeda and sparking a national desire for revenge. Through the media, the whole world was within striking distance of government. As Americans, we proceeded to go on a decade-long war, costing the lives of hundreds and thousands, whilst failing to find any of the “weapons of mass destruction” which were supposedly said to exist in Iraq by Ex-President George W. Bush. This begs the question: Were we purposely misguided by our president? 

As an American and a direct witness to 9/11, it is indeed difficult for me to say that our government was to blame for the attacks. It is simply unfathomable to think that our leaders would either perpetrate or knowingly allow these attacks to occur as an excuse to go to war in the Middle East. The consequences of such blatant treason is extremely serious and shouldn’t go unpunished. However, the mere concept of having “the appearance of a war” has often sparked patriotic support by members of society like in the film “Wag the Dog”, directed by Barry Levinson. As Americans, we were depicted by Levinson as being so proud of our army and leaders for standing up to the supposed injustice happening on the other side of the world, yet what really happened was a decade-long bloody war instigated by our government in order to cover up the dirty deeds of the president. Would you rather believe that your president was a sex fiend or an upstanding hero? Obviously the latter would be more appropriate for a figure that is supposed to lead the country. Yet, this type of decision-making purely based on impression rather than facts is dangerous, as the dangers of privileging superficiality over facts are immense. The ramifications for ignoring the truth was the souring of public relations with Albania for decades due to our president’s choice for neglecting to act virtuously and disclose the truth to the world. In the end, the “fake war” they wished for at the start, later escalated to a world-scale war, causing the deaths of millions, accentuating the dire consequences of avoiding the truth and choosing deceit over honesty.

So how does the government actually spin information in order to deceive us in the real world? A commonly used technique is known as “pre-packaged news” or a “video news release”. Haven’t you ever wondered why the news you hear on ABC, BBC, CBS and Fox News are all very similar? This is because it is based off the same script that is sent from Public Relations firms on behalf of the government to these news firms around America in order to shape public opinion. According to Ex-President George W. Bush, this practice is within the law as he trusts that the Public Relations firms are adhering to the principle of only broadcasting the “truth” and the “facts”. What if they are actually twisting the real facts and as the people who depend on the news to stay up-to-date with current affairs, we wouldn’t know any better anyways. We have become influenced negatively by the government as we blindly believe in them. Many organisations in our nation assert that the media’s coverage of 9/11 was “pre-packaged news” due to the repetitious nature of the broadcasting. Through such pervasive nationwide exposure accessible to all households, we end up becoming the blind sheep that are herded by those in power, unable to think properly for ourselves and potentially even lose the power to form our own unique opinions, as whatever channel we turn to, the news anchor is merely regurgitating the same propaganda as every news station in America.

I am no conspiracy theorist, I am only raising potential grey areas in an issue commonly perceived as black and white. It is important and absolutely necessary that we are not to believe in a concoction of lies presented by the media solely on the reason that they make us “feel better” about ourselves or that they empower us as righteous Americans. If we give in to the influence of the media, not only do we risk sacrificing our integrity on a world-scale once the lie is exposed, but we also risk losing our own individual identity and our own thoughts as they have been subdued and replaced by what the media sees fit, whilst making us feel empowered and confusing our senses, further elucidating the ramifications of ignoring the truth and giving in to our own desire to believe what makes us feel good inside.

14 years on, we remain deluded in our own lies after subtle persuasion from the media, showing that we haven’t learnt our lesson. 14 years on, we are still ignorant to the severe consequences from not facing up to reality. If we continue this trend, then I guarantee, 14 years from today, similar attacks will happen. Our ignorance will be taken advantage of, but it might just be too late for us to realise that when it happens. Who knows if we will still be alive next time a war breaks out as a result of our decision to ignore the unpalatable truth for a sweet-sounding lie. Perhaps we would have fallen victim to the most fatal consequence of all: death. We may still be alive on the surface, but inside, our ability to think for ourselves has been killed by the deceitful media. Let’s not waste the sacrifice made by the victims of 9/11 and wake up today to prevent further fatal attacks on our mind.

Rest in Peace 

Barry Redmond is a Freelance Writer living in Los Angeles.

(1217 Words - Including Prompt)

[99.90 pls]

Given that we're so close to the exam, I wouldn't change too much, if anything. But skimming through, just a couple of minor points:
"The consequences of such blatant treason is extremely serious and shouldn’t go unpunished." It should be "are extremely serious" (plurality of consequences), but more importantly, the use of "treason" and "shouldn't go unpunished" seems a bit incongruous (doesn't quite fit in) in a piece where you're basically encouraging us to question government and question authorities.

Also, the introduction of 'Wag the Dog' is a bit, in my opinion, ham-fisted. It feels like it's just been shoved in; try and make it a smoother introduction? Particularly when you're tacking on that it's "directed by Barry Levinson" for no apparent reason; it's not required to state the director, but if you still want to, a smoother, less in-your-face method might be "Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog".

Good luck and let's hope that a good prompt for Wag the Dog comes up

[Leezy]

Thanks my friend!! Much appreciated, good luck to you too for tomorrow, i'm sure you'll be fine!