One of the ways in which
the people of Iraq have been discredited is by constructing
them in the image of war-like people. It must be understood
that even when colonization had officially ended in Iraq,
its residue remained as a toxic influence in that region
long after the colonizer had departed. Since the fall of
the Ottoman Empire, there have been three occupations of
Iraq, five coups, and two mysterious deaths of the nation’s
leader. “Iraqis are a proud and often war-like people,
and Iraq has been highly nationalistic ever since Iraq emerged
as a nation state” (Cordesman, 2002).
Textual imagery such as this,
of a barbaric and violent people, has been sent forth in
a most unapologetic manner in other popular texts as well.
“Some have even described the present situation as
the third Muslim invasion of Europe, more successful than
either the first or the second” (Lewis, 1993). Such
text that has similarly been applied to Arab or Middle Eastern
peoples bears heavily upon the textual imagery of Iraqi
peoples who are understood as a specificity of these broader
racial designations.
The idea behind this book is
to first set forth the concept of textual imagery as an
abstract, yet very present phenomenon in the daily lives
of our citizens. Textual imagery refers to the lasting images
that are evoked through various modes of text. |
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Each day citizens
genuinely desiring to be educated about world events, international
policy, and the lives of the cultural other, are bombarded
with textual imagery. That is to say, information is presented
to them in auditory form (such as radio or water-cooler
conversation), visually (such as photographed or televised
images), and in written text (such as newspaper or other
popular press). While the text acts as merely a vehicle,
it is the imagery that often remains with the individual
long after the text has been administered. This text may
carry powerful images in combination with incomplete information
which, together, create a textual imagery that may not be
authentic or edifying.
The textual imagery presented
to the U.S. citizenry in preparation for war in Iraq is
a complex example of the impact of textual imagery on perspective,
policy and polity.
The second and related aspect
of this book beacons the reader to analyze the process by
which the once strident concept of citizenship has been
relegated to a diminished voice. The very idea of freedom
and enfranchisement is contemplated, as well as its vital
relationship to meaningful choice. Finally, a framework
for an organic citizenship is set forth as one that renews
the role of authentic voice and freedom.
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