Why No Antiwar Sources

 Blog Post #5

Since the inception of America, we have been a very pro-war nation.  Having engaged in at least twelve major wars in less than 300 years, the idea of disagreeing with the national war effort is often seen as treasonous.  This couldn't be any clearer than in the availability of antiwar websites or the absolute lack of antiwar news sources in popular media.  

There are many different factors contributing to this lack of antiwar coverage in mass media.  One of the most apparent from the outset is the lack of funding these sources have.  Since antiwar media is much less profitable than sources that feed into the patriotic act of war, they often get less financial backing from sponsors.  This lack of financial support can lead to lack of employees, resulting in what can be seen on antiwar.com, which is visually rather difficult to navigate.  Antiwar.com is also currently looking for funding, a sign of the lack of financial support.

(Getty Images)

Another factor that faces these antiwar groups is the fact that war is largely considered to spark the economy, a fairly debatable statement. For many this proposed economic boom definitely isn't undesirable, even if the required factor to start it is a war. As stated by Peter Pham of Forbes, "South Korea and Taiwan both received similar benefits like Japan from war, profiting from wartime economies and later, demilitarization."

One of the only majorly successful antiwar movements in American history was the movement against the Vietnam War. While this movement was successful, it was also largely due to the fact that the Vietnam War was one of attrition that America couldn't hold out long enough to win. These movements have always been mildly successful, but never gained as much traction as the anti-Vietnam War movement did.

This lack of funding and lack of general popularity has led to these sites being largely ignored by the mainstream media. Antiwar statements also generally don't make very good news, as they oppose many of the statements of those higher up in society that could serve to gain off of the war.