Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Forests, Trees, and Impressions

Rebecca McKinnon cites a reporter who finds less than impressive levels of competency among US troops in Iraq. There are, as she notes, lots of folks, particularly military who find fault with reportage. What to do, she asks?

Well, how about we start by acknowledging that one reporter, one soldier, even one general, etc., is not likely to get a grasp of the whole truth of the entire situation. Let's acknowledge that different observers will see and remember different things, even when they are in the same situation. It's messy, but true.

How about we try to avoid forming strong opinions based on too-partial sources? How about we put things in context and try to be fair? Is it that hard? Criminy.

Slight Non-Sequitur [via the Grand Rounds XX]: Military doctors in Iraq have decided that at least one disease is not worth treating if the patient thereby incurs the risk of traveling to a military hospital. Another tree.

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