Essay Lead

One of the most powerful weapons that British Abolitionists had at their disposal during their quest to end slavery was a diagram that exposed the conditions on slave ships, with slaves packed together like sardines. More recently, in 1972, the American people were exposed to a horrific photo of a young girl running naked, her flesh burning as she ran down a dirt road. The photo turned American opinions even more against a war they already were certainly not enamored with and it was a major catalyst that provoked the end of the war. In 2004 Americans were exposed to similarly graphic and disturbing photos from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq but America did not get the same momentum towards ending the war in Iraq after seeing the atrocities, and three years later as the war rages on, the photos are largely forgotten. Were Americans as greatly scarred by those horrific photos as people were in the past, but would prefer to wait on the world to change? Or have we become so desensitized to everything due to the more graphic things people are exposed to every day that images like that lose their chilling effect that brings about change?