Flags of Our Fathers

Clint Eastwood's latest movie is about the three men in the iconic photograph of the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima during the second world war. In the photograph, the three men have their backs to the camera. The other three men in the photograph, died on Iwo Jima. At that time, the US government wanted to win support for the war, so they brought the three men home, the media declared them heroes, and they became propaganda. In hindsight, the use of the three men to win support for the war was a good thing -- America was needed to help fight the second world war. Without the Americans, the would have been far different. In hindsight, the use of the three men was also tragic. They felt the real heroes of Iwo Jima died there -- that they, safe in America, were not the heroes.

Newsweek carries a review of the movie that asks what commentary the movie makes on the packaging and selling of the latest war that Americans are embroiled in. It's an interesting question. History does have lessons for us. The information we're fed on the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan needs to be carefully tested for validity before consumption. Too often, the truth is distorted, spun and otherwise tampered with, in its delivery to the general public -- and just like the heroes of Iwo Jima, the general public gorges on it unquestioningly.