To the editor:
In November, my husband called an ad on TV to my attention. It was an Army recruitment commercial just before the Buffalo Bills game. The commercial was clearly aimed a young adults, men in particular, who would be watching the game.
An ad per se would not be offensive but it was the content that was very disturbing. It depicted the U.S. Army protecting us over time. The first depiction was of the U.Ss cavalry keeping a close eye on Native Americans who were preparing to fight for their lands. The second showed young soldiers today monitoring terrorists via command centers in this country and then calling in drone strikes on terrorists thousands of miles away. The implication was these were Muslim terrorists.
I believe this to be disturbing on several levels. First it gave a very sanitized view of war. Never mind the horrible suffering that goes on on both sides. Innocent victims are ignored. Second it was racist and promoted hatred, distrust and bitterness. Haven’t we picked on Native Americans long enough? I cannot imagine a Native American watching this.
It continues to stir up prejudice against people from the Middle East and especially Muslims. In the long run, it creates radicalism and hatred of America and makes the world a place of fear and terror.
It also disturbs me that the military would think the American public would not be offended by this advertisement.
My intent in writing is to encourage parents who watch football with their young adults or teenagers to not ignore such advertisements but rather to talk to their sons and daughters about this type of distortion and why it does not in any way reflect how Christ wants us to interact with each other and the world.
Elizabeth Maloney
Pine City
