My TV Network Would Show The Hanging.

[dbt]

I would run the video every hour on the hour for 24 hours. Whoever was anchoring (Amy Goodman, Jim Hightower, Christiane Amanpour, Dan Rather and/or Daniel Schorr, to name but a few) would do the disclaimer beforehand:

"What you are about to see is barbaric and repulsive, one crime on top of many others perpetrated by both sides in a war of convenience, a war that should never have happened. If you have a weak stomach, if you are offended by state-sanctioned violence, we strongly advise you NOT to watch the footage that we are about to show. But we remind you that this execution was funded by your tax dollars and is but one result of the enterprise that has been undertaken against Iraq, in the name of all Americans and with the support of the majority of our elected representatives. We paid for this footage with the blood of our troops; it is thus public property and is now available for public viewing. It is our obligation as an arm of the free press described in the First Amendment to give you the opportunity to view the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Let's go to the tape."

I would be reviled as a Traitor for showing the execution on my network. My headquarters would be surrounded by legions of the "patriotic," who would demand that I be imprisoned, deported or murdered for such temerity. I would have to have bodyguards and armored convoys to be able to go to the store for a six-pack, but the ratings of my network would be higher than the next four combined. For every sponsor I might lose, three more would be elbowing each other out of the way to get on my air.

And somewhere, somehow, maybe a few thousand people would begin to realize what the grunts in the foxholes have always known: War is some UGLY shit.

:argh:
dbt
Remember New Orleans

[Deja Q]

1. Holy 'Vengeance on Varos', Batman!

While not the first example of sci-fi portraying a society that uses televised violence to keep people happy, it's by far the most disturbing (even if the story's director didn't put any flair into the camerawork...)

[liberaldemocrat7]

2. A still photo of Saddam

and now the Noose