By Ramsey Pruitt
Valley Voices Staff Writer
Politicians and parents are not the only ones with strong opinions on the war in Iraq. Teenagers do as well.
Teens from schools across Chattanooga expressed differing views of how the government should be handling the war but said they often felt mistrustful of news about the war due to a perception of media bias.
Regardless of their opinions about the war, 75 percent of 12 teens interviewed said they believe the United States has made progress in Iraq.
"The old regime was dismantled, the people of Iraq were able to participate in a democratic election and there hasn't been another attack on the United States," said John Till, an 18-year-old home-schooled student in Chattanooga.
Marsh Beaty, a junior at Hamilton Heights High School, said he opposes the war but agreed progress has been made.
"This war wasn't a total waste, because we did get Saddam (Hussein) out of power," he said.
Some teenagers, however, expressed confusion over seemingly conflicting views presented by media outlets' coverage of the conflict.
"People have gotten a lot of false information, and I don't really know what's what on all of it," said Emily Wilson, a junior at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School.
Separating fact from opinion in the flood of war coverage can be a serious challenge, Mr. Till said.
"The media's representations of the war are often conflicting," he said. "Also, many skeptics believe news to be biased in one direction or another depending on the specific news station, so they don't believe the accounts they hear on television."
Some students said they prefer to learn about current events related the war from online sources.
A study conducted in 2007 of 65 teens in Chicago by Northwestern University's Media Management Center found that teens get most of their news through the Internet.
Ease of access to online news makes staying informed less restrictive than through other sources, said Jaime Ballard, a junior at Silverdale Baptist Academy.
"I prefer online because I can read it whenever I want to, and I don't have to sit down at a certain time and watch the news," she said.
Staying informed is of vital importance, she added.
"I care about the war and the news," she said. "This is our country we're talking about."
SPENDING
On Nov. 14, The New York Times reported that internal White House data estimated the cost of sending an additional 40,000 troops to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq at about $1 million cost per solider per year. Do teens believe the war is worth the money?
* "Absolutely not," said Marsh Beaty, a junior of Hamilton Heights High School. "We are in massive debt, and this war has only made it worse."
* "I don't think it's worth it because there are way more things they can use the money for," said Shira Hickey, a sophomore at East Hamilton.
* "I personally believe money is a small price to pay, if it means possibly saving people's lives," said Logan Yerby, a junior at McCallie School.
Ramsey Pruitt is a student at Hamilton Heights High School.
Mr. Till makes his own point. In one breath he states that there is a lot of conflicting information in the media. In another, he says that there has not been another attack on the United States since we invaded. While that is true, he seems to equate the war in Iraq with the attack of 11 September 2001.
We were attacked by Al Qaeda, a terrorist network headquartered in Afghanistan, whose leader founded the network in order to topple Saddam Hussien for invading Kuwait in what led to Desert Storm.
A group known as Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia currently operates in Iraq, but they did not exist until after the US invasion in 2003.
The two are far from being directly connected, though many of our citizens erroneously persist in believing so.
Brock Bennington, Iraq Veteran
Or login with:
New Account