Pictures pack powerhouse punch
Monday, May 5, 2008 11:05 AM CDT
The power of the Internet is something of a mixed bag. Predators of all kinds stalk the innocent. Unwary consumers seeking miracles and deals fall victim to some truly ingenious scams. Information sources must be examined with caution and care.
But for all its pitfalls, the Web also provides the means to shine a powerful light on what’s wrong as well as what’s right in our world. And sometimes that light is strong enough to initiate needed change.
Ed Frawley can certainly attest to the influence of the Internet. On April 13, he welcomed his son, Jeff, back from a 15-month deployment in Afghanistan. Shocked at the deplorable conditions of Jeff’s barracks in Fort Bragg, N.C., Ed took pictures of the black mold, rusting bathroom fixtures, peeling lead paint and open drains leaking sewer gas.
When he got back to Menomonie, Frawley posted a narrated slide show of the damning photos on YouTube. Less than a week later, a CNN truck was making its way up his driveway.
On Monday, he started getting calls from big shots in the Army, the Congress and even the Pentagon. All of the major networks have featured the story; so have newspapers across the country. As of Thursday, Frawley’s YouTube sensation had received nearly a quarter-million hits.
It’s clearly become a hot button issue for legislators. In a letter to the Senate appropriators on Friday, our own Senator Russ Feingold asked that “they ensure funds made available in the upcoming supplemental appropriations bill are used to repair, or find alternatives to, any unsanitary barracks currently occupied by servicemembers in the U.S.”
In addition to all the attention, it appears that something is actually being done about the situation and not only at Fort Bragg. Inspections of the Army’s barracks worldwide have been ordered.
Given the speed at which both the armed forces and the legislature are known to move the term “hurry up and wait” comes to mind we can only hope that the Internet will continue to exert its influence in a positive manner. |
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