OPINION BY LYNNE ELLYN

At a barbecue in June 2003, I spoke with a naturalized Iraqi-American who shared some recent pictures with me from a family trip back home to Iraq. The pictures showed people living a near-normal prewar existence. This man told me that the American media depictions of widespread violence and social disruption do not represent the common realities of Iraq. As a result, Americans are left with incorrect impressions of pervasive chaos, violence, and anti-American hatred in his homeland. These problems, though disturbing, are exceptions.