Save Us From Jessica Lynch
By Jermaine Smith

Some say there is no pride greater than to fight and die for your country. In Iraq, there are many proud American soldiers combating the terrors of war to deliver freedom to a devastated nation. For each soldier wounded or killed in the defense of democracy, a family grieves and mourns at home. Nevertheless, too many of these soldiers, despite the vigor with which they fought and the courage they displayed, remain faceless names on a wall or newspaper page.

Except for Pfc. Jessica Lynch of Palestine, West Virginia.

Lynch was part of the Army's 507th Maintenance Company captured by Iraqi soldiers that lost their way in the Iraqi desert. The account of Ms. Lynch’s traumatic ordeal is everywhere: New York Times headlines and CNN leads, a book deal and, most recently, a made-for-T.V. movie. America embraced the fallen heroine who courageously fought and stayed positive when her company was captured.

But Ms. Lynch was not alone.

U.S. armed forces rescued five other members of that patrol, seven overall, in addition to Ms. Lynch. While Lynch remained in a hospital, her injuries attended to, these men and women were at the mercy of Iraqi soldiers who beat them and often put their lives in danger.

It is tremendous that Ms. Lynch, as well as her comrades, made it home safely before meeting more harm. However, in the 7 months since her rescue, confusion has swirled around the incident. The Associated Press and BBC reported that, after speaking with several hospital officials and witnesses, there were no Iraqi soldiers preventing the “rescue” of Lynch, and insinuated that perhaps the government staged the rescue to serve American interest. Other rumors have emerged, but no evidence surfaced to support the claims. Assuming everything presented in the media was true regarding the miraculous rescue, it still begs the question: why was Lynch nationally celebrated while the other POWs, whose families and loved ones were equally as concerned, were virtually ignored?

Though not an opinion popular with patriots, perhaps Ms. Lynch’s rescue was staged. Even conceding that her injuries were serious, several facts still demand attention: Lynch was rescued on the 2nd of April, unlike her fellow soldiers who were rescued on the 13th, almost 2 weeks later; Lynch remained hospitalized, while her fellow soldiers were imprisoned, beaten and blindfolded; and Ms. Lynch was the only young white female of the group.

Lynch is an anomaly in the military; there are few young, attractive white females in the armed forces. Moreover, the U.S. Army’s new recruitment campaign to attract more “hip-hop” and urban recruits, hopes to ensure that truth in the future. The armed forces, stretched too thin by conflicts on multiple fronts, are attracting lower-class (often Hispanic and African-American) citizens, who often have fewer options after high school graduation.

By incorporating elements of hip-hop culture, the army hopes to enlist more of this demographic “to make sure it improves on representing all groups,” says Kendall Martin, account supervisor at Muse Cordero Chen, a multicultural advertising agency. Not surprisingly, the Army currently is level with or above the target percentage for both African-Americans and Hispanics.

It may not be fair to accuse the media, let alone the government, of using Lynch’s rescue as a rallying event because of her race and appeal. However, with other soldiers receiving less exposure, and perhaps worse treatment, it is difficult to not question the reasoning behind Lynch’s popularity.

With that said, Jessica Lynch was not responsible for her capture. She was not responsible for her injuries incurred. For that matter, Lynch is not responsible for the media frenzy that has surrounded her since that day. The fault lies with those who chose to single out Ms. Lynch and make her the poster child for the war in Iraq.

Despite the favoritism, Jessica Lynch’s story is remarkable: a young female soldier left for dead, brutalized by enemy troops and missing for over a week, she was fortunate to come home alive. Her charming smile and simple roots are likely what sparks her overwhelming appeal. Lynch’s parents point out, however, that it is sad the attention her book (I Am a Soldier, Too) has received focuses on the alleged sexual assault, because her story is “more than just one incident.”

That may be true, but let us not miss the big picture: focusing on a small aspect of Lynch’s story is sad, but ignoring the bravery of the other men and women who fought along side her – including the minorities who lost their lives for democracy - is unquestionably tragic.

Howard’s End
By Anna Schwartz

Dr. Dean has lodged his foot so deeply in his mouth that its removal may require a specialist. The leading candidate in the Democratic primary, Dean told an Iowa newspaper last week that he wanted to be “the candidate for the guys with Confederate flags on their pickup trucks.” Dean insists that his only intention was to make clear his aim to attract Southern white voters, but the fallout from the comments was far worse than anything Dr. Dean could have imagined. His fellow candidates accused him of being a bigot, a racist, and stereotyping Southern whites – the Rev. Al Sharpton, not known to mince words, went so far as to call Dean’s record “anti-black.” In New Hampshire, Dean is polling fourteen points ahead of his closest competitor, Senator Kerry. Even so, the fallout after his shocking comments coupled with his subsequent refusal to apologize, which attracted media attention to the issue, could cost Dean his position as the leader of the Democratic pack.

The political strategy behind Dean’s assertions is correct: in order to win the general election by a comfortable margin, the Democratic candidate will need to appeal to white Southerners. However, Dean’s statement poses several logical and practical problems: first and foremost, he is not the Democrat who will appeal to white Southerners – his stance on social issues such as gay marriage is far too liberal, and his conservative affinity for balanced budgets will limit funding for key social welfare policy, already dangerously low in the South. Secondly, Dean should concentrate on ensuring that he will not hemorrhage middle-class black voters rather than focusing on converting whites – the number of poor white voters that he will be able to persuade to vote for him is negligible compared to the number of middle-class black voters (a strong presence in the South) who may vote for Bush in anger. In the past six elections, Southern whites have overwhelmingly voted Republican – no Southern state has carried a Democrat in recent history other than Al Gore in his home state of Tennessee in 2000, and even that was a marginal victory.

Dean’s statement was fundamentally offensive: the collective wound over the confederate flag controversy has not yet healed in Southern states such as Georgia. Regardless of Dean’s intentions, depicting all southern whites as guys driving around with confederate flags on their pickup trucks is an affront, and a false one at that.

The New York Times observes that Dean is “obviously no racist, and no one who criticized the flag comment imagined that he is.” Nevertheless, his gaffe placed him squarely into the middle of an issue that has plagued both the Democratic Party and the nation at large for decades. Race and racial representation in politics must, as the New York Times, asserts, be “handled with great care.” The more politically savvy, top tier Democratic candidates know this, and have chosen to use Dean’s mistake as a launching pad to undercut his credibility and viability (even John Edwards, who has mostly stayed away from ad hominem attacks, rebuked Dean in Tuesday’s debate). The comment and its aftermath will bring race, which has not been a major issue, to the fore in the primary.

Unfortunately, Dean has set himself up to lose in the dialogue that he wishes to start: the tarnishing of his reputation because of the flag comment is just the beginning of character assassination and record-bashing that will diminish his chances of surviving the primaries and the debates unscathed. Should Dean be fortunate enough to maintain his lead and win the nomination, the accusations of racism will follow him through the general election and will be excellent fodder for the Republican machine (itself not exactly friendly to minority issues) to use against him.

Dean’s team will have to do a great deal of damage control in order to smooth over relations with the black community and Southern whites. Unfortunately, attempts to spin the comment and demonstrate friendly relations with the black community will backfire on Dean – he will appear phony and desperate. Dean’s insensitivity simply expedited an inevitable realization: Dean is not a candidate who has a wide appeal outside of upper middle class, well-educated Northeastern whites – he is far too liberal and seems unlikely to become more moderate if elected. Dean will not be the Democratic nominee, no matter how many ten-dollar bills he collects from Ivy League college students, or how popular he is on Meetup.com. Appealing to the stars and bars marks the beginning of Howard’s end.