1. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the Media and the War in Iraq Anonymous

2. The Allegory of the Cave

3. Prisoners chained since childhood. Their limbs chained so they cannot move Their heads chained so they cannot look any direction but forward

4. They face a wall On the wall are shadows The prisoners’ attention is occupied by shadows cast on the wall

5. The shadows are cast from a roadway behind the prisoners. On the roadway, shapes of various animals, plants, and things are carried.

6. An enormous fire behind the roadway creates the light to cast the shadows

7. When the shape carriers speak, their voice echoes on the wall. The prisoners believe that the sounds are coming from the shadows

8. The prisoners engage in a game – naming the shapes as they go by.

9. This is the only reality that they know, even though they are seeing only shadows of images

10. One prisoner is released. The prisoner is compelled to stand up and turn around.

11. The brightness of the fire-light blinds the prisoner and the shapes moving by do not appear as real as the shadows

12. Similarly if he is dragged out of the cave and into the sunlight, his eyes are so blinded that he will not be able to see anything. Over time his eyes will mature.

13. Similarly if he s dragged out of the cave and into the sunlight, his eyes are so blinded that he will not be able to see anything. Over time his eyes will mature.

14. The last object that he would be able to see is the sun. which, in time, he would learn to see as that object which provides the seasons and the courses of the year… Presides over all things in the visible region, and is in some way the cause of all these things that he has seen.....

15. The Media and the Iraq War

16. Prisoners chained since childhood. Their limbs chained so they cannot move Their heads chained so they cannot look any direction but forward Most Americans are chained to television since childhood. Furniture is placed in living/family rooms to surround the TV set. Families eat dinner in front of the TV set and buy packaged meals to maximize their “TV-time”.

17. They face a wall On the wall are shadows The prisoners’ attention is occupied by shadows cast on the wall With no other frame of reference, we look to the television to tell us what politician to trust, what clothes to wear, and what car to drive. The shadows can also be used to define “right” and “wrong”.

18. The shadows are cast from a roadway behind the prisoners. On the roadway, shapes of various animals, plants, and things are carried. The news media takes what their perception of events are and broadcasts them to the general public

19. An enormous fire behind the roadway creates the light to cast the shadows These shapes are formed by the interests of the colossal corporations that own these broadcasters.

20. When the shape carriers speak, their voice echoes on the wall. The prisoners believe that the sounds are coming from the shadows Lets not forget about the impact of radio. A medium where most talk shows were in favor of the Iraq War.

21. The prisoners engage in a game – naming the shapes as they go by. Both sides are the issue are segregated into groups and labeled. Instead of asking questions, we engage in name calling. Patriots vs. unAmericans

22. This is the only reality that they know, even though they are seeing only shadows of images With their heads chained forward, they can never look back…

23. The Stage is set for War!