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Images are inarguably one of the most prominent — and  most

important — parts of our political lives. 

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Regarding our national government and the globalized world in which

we live, both far from our direct experience, images are what keep

us engaged in and informed of political events and issues as well

as celebrities. 

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Images helped turn our nation’s public opinion against Vietnam,

reveal the devastation and resulting need for aid caused by

Hurricane Katrina and put a face on corporate greed and malfeasance

through a profile of Bernie Madoff.  

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Thinking outside of ourselves, political images are likely one of

the things keeping newspapers and newsmagazines on life support,

and are the bread and butter of news programs — even The Daily

Show, a program that most often doctors them, could not exist

without the images of those it satirizes.  

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But the seeming necessity of constant, unique photo ops can clearly

go too far. Setting aside the issue of an individual’s right to

privacy — because politicians don’t really deserve it anyway,

right? — last week’s case of the “White House”-emblazoned 747

flying over New York City, with an F-16 fighter jet in tow, fully

proves this point. 

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One can only imagine the terror that onlookers felt when they saw a

passenger plane flying above Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers

once stood, at a height no higher than the two terrorist-controlled

planes did on that horrific day nearly eight years ago.  

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Indeed, thousands of people fled the skyscrapers they were working

in, and multiple phones were fearfully pointed at what their owners

believed would make 4/27 infamous. As one Barclays worker said,

“Everybody just started sprinting and freaking out.” As a

construction worker added, “Everybody was saying ‘it’s a terrorist

attack.’” 

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And the reason behind this idiotic event, which, I should mention,

neither the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, regular New

Yorkers — or even irregular ones like Derek Jeter, Rudy Giuliani,

Donald Trump, or any of the “Real Housewives of New York City” —

knew about? 

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A few completely pointless political photos. 

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Apparently the Air Force decided that $35,000 would be well-spent

on a flight that would produce some glamour shots of the type of

plane in which President Obama — who was not in the plane and was

not even informed of the plan — flies across the country. Even

worse, the Federal Aviation Administration approved of the plan,

stating that it should “only be shared with persons with a need to

know” and “shall not be released to the public.” Apparently that

did not include the millions of New Yorkers, or other Americans for

that matter, who remember 9/11 like it was yesterday.

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But even if this great mistake had not scared the hell out of

people, it would have still been a mistake. The few photos produced

by the act do nothing to engage or inform Americans — which, I

believe, all political pictures should do. 

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So what type of political photos might be better? 

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Actually, some images that also bring 9/11 to mind: the photographs

of all that has happened as a result of that day.   

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Though hidden from our eyes, and therefore from our nation’s

collective political consciousness, Americans need to see the true

cost — to our soldiers, to Islamic militants and to Iraqi, Afghan

and Pakistani civilians — of our actions abroad. 

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The United States made slight progress on this front when, for the

first time since President George H.W.Bush banned the press from

doing so 18 years ago, the flag-draped coffin of a fallen American

soldier — Staff Sgt. Phillip Meyers, who was killed in Afghanistan

— was photographed when it arrived at Dover Air Force Base on April

6.  

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But we need to see more. While families should be respected — and

indeed, President Obama’s February order only allows for the press

to cover the returns of soldiers if their families approve — we

need to see not only how many of our soldiers are dying daily, as

represented by their flag-draped coffins, but also the graphic

nature of their deaths. 

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Yes, it might be hard to stomach, but that’s what war is. If we are

going to tacitly support the wars of our nation through our tax

dollars and for the most part our silence, we need to know exactly

what is happening — and this includes how Americans are dying. 

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But it also includes how those of other nations are dying — both

those who hate America and those who have the unfortunate luck of

living among them. This includes being pumped full of lead, being

blown up by martyrs, and being crushed by the rubble that is

created by our drones. 

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I apologize if these descriptions are too blunt for you, but it’s

happening, and it’s what we need to see. 

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In a country where even the youngest eyes see such graphically

violent images on television and movies — and even worse,

vicariously engage in them through countless video games — and

where “freedom of the press” is supposedly more cherished and

protected than anywhere else in the world, such consequences should

not be hidden. 

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Whether the wars in which we engage are right or wrong, we need to

see their full costs. 

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So let’s stop wasting our time idiotically invoking images of 9/11

in the skies of New York, and instead present the public with

what’s really going on.

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 — Steve Adams is a graduate student in journalism and mass

communication from Annapolis, Maryland.