S1E53 - Norman Solomon - Shining Light on Inconvenient Truths
We met with Norman Solomon, co-founder of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, to shed light on what we are NOT told about our military involvement around the globe. One cannot fathom the human toll of 4.5 million lives lost directly and indirectly from US military action since 9/11. Solomon implicates corporate media and Hollywood in obfuscating the real human cost, especially of innocent non-combatants. To illustrate this point, he explains that for every innocent US life lost in the World Trade Center attack, the US killed 100 innocents in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. Why do we value one human life more than another? While hopeful of a time when humanity can rise above violent conflict, Solomon principally advocates for more truthful and accurate disclosure in place of the terrifyingly efficient propaganda machine that erases this awareness from the public consciousness. The glorification of war and the absence of rigorous discourse before military action all contribute to this. Decentralized non-corporate journalism may hold a key. Newsrooms themselves have become an endangered species. Can we build movements and sensibilities that say “war first” is unacceptable? To quote Antonio Gramsci, “It is time for pessimism of the intellect, and optimism of the will.” Join us.
Biography
Norman Solomon is co-founder of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. The National Council of Teachers of English honored him with the George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. His op-ed articles have appeared in a range of newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. His previous books include War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death and Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America’s Warfare State. He lives in the San Francisco area.
Conversation recorded on September 29, 2023.