The media is responsible for our trouble in Iraq

Or, at least that's what one of the posters said over on "Liberal Lean". His argument appears to be that the media wants us to suffer defeat in Iraq and is bringing this about by reporting certain facts about Iraq. For example, the media frequently reports the number of American soldiers killed and wounded there. The media also sometimes reports that there is quite a lot of violence and disorder there, in Iraq. Sometimes, in addition to this reportage, the media then also makes comments expressing the opinion that, for example, the number of American soldiers killed and wounded in Iraq, coupled with the overall amount of violence and disorder in Iraq, might lead one to conclude that, well, things aren't really going all that well for us in Iraq.

I think I can probably agree with this assessment of what the media is doing. What I can't seem to wrap my mind around though, is how reporting what is going on, and forming obvious conclusions based on this reporting, is actually causing the very thing that is being reported. There is some kind of logical fallacy there, but the whole thing is so muddled that I can't seem to put my finger on it.

But anyway. Is The Media really plotting our nation's destruction? Does it really have as its goal the victory of our enemies?

Let's think this through. First, "The Media" really doesn't exist. It is comprised of: (1) journalists, editors, commentators, reporters, etc (i.e., people) who presumably have parents, kids, homes, bank accounts, mortgages, etc (i.e., regular lives), and (2) newspapers, television stations, networks, websites, etc (i.e., companies) who presumably desire to make a profit and continue in existence.

Next: do these people and companies want The Terrorists to win? Is it their objective to have this country overrun by irrational forces who want to kill their families, burn their homes, erase their profits, and destroy their livelihoods (and lives)???

To believe this is the height of lunacy. These people and companies have their continued existence at stake to the same extent as the rest of us, and probably more so given that our enemies don't believe in free speech and would stamp out The Media as their first act after coming to power. Totally illogical and completely insupportable.

But, in what has to be one of the dumbest things I've heard lately, some people believe we should pre-emptively stamp out the media ourselves, gag and censor them, in order to keep them from eventually helping to stamp themselves out. But I guess anything that will keep us from having to face unpleasant facts is a good thing. At a minimum, we can at least get The View off the air.