Cecil B Demille, Where Are You?
It has been quite gut wrenching the number of disasters that have happened world wide in the last 12 months. We started out the year with tidal waves in Southeast Asia, next hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and now earthquakes in Pakistan. The number of fatalities has been catastrophic and the cost of the devastation unimaginable. All events have been covered in a fanfare of media and pictures of the devastation plastered everywhere for all to see. The outpouring of charity from around the world staggers the imagination. I would never have believed that the world would think twice about helping out the United States when New Orleans was flooded. I am so pleased to have been wrong.
All of these major events have happened and when the story stopped being broadcast, the attention stopped being focused. The human tragedy remained and continued. Once it was no longer a media spectacle, it was no longer a problem. Let’s move on to tackle the next big media challenge. But those people’s lives are still not whole. There is no way to replace human life, but the property, the infrastructure, the places of employment, and some modicum of human dignity can be replaced. It is a shame that we are more than happy to give when the visibility is there, but not to make sure that the work is completed. Without any more tragedy and suffering to create the media stir, the networks went elsewhere to sensationalize their point of view. The media does not like success or reporting a happy story.
That is why, even though these devastations are still fresh in our minds, we have moved on to bigger and better things. If you look around just the United States at the number of daily disaster events (starvation, homelessness, child abuse), it is just as staggering as each of the world wide events. No media attention is focused other than a 60 Minutes segment of a blurb on the evening network news. What happens every day even in the United States and to a greater extent around the world is nothing short of a terratastrophy. We ignore the pain and suffering of the little events because we are not aware or do not care to be aware of them. No monumental loss of life or property, just the individual struggle of someone else, who with just a touch, may turn their lives around.
This is not something for the government. It was never the government’s job to provide people the ability to succeed. Government is there to provide a national defense, provide and enforce the minimum of laws to keep society from degenerating, and put up pretty buildings so we can all visit them and say oooh and aaah. Groups of people with common interests are the best source of help when it comes to assisting those that need a helping hand. Churches, Elks, Eagles, Moose, Masons, and a whole list of fraternal organizations are much better suited to create the environment of change than the government. Why does it continue to go on? That is a whole different topic.
Unfortunately, some time in the near future, we will be getting the “Lights, Camera, Action” of the next world wide tragedy. I am ready for my close up Mr. Demille.
Icool
Cobb
All of these major events have happened and when the story stopped being broadcast, the attention stopped being focused. The human tragedy remained and continued. Once it was no longer a media spectacle, it was no longer a problem. Let’s move on to tackle the next big media challenge. But those people’s lives are still not whole. There is no way to replace human life, but the property, the infrastructure, the places of employment, and some modicum of human dignity can be replaced. It is a shame that we are more than happy to give when the visibility is there, but not to make sure that the work is completed. Without any more tragedy and suffering to create the media stir, the networks went elsewhere to sensationalize their point of view. The media does not like success or reporting a happy story.
That is why, even though these devastations are still fresh in our minds, we have moved on to bigger and better things. If you look around just the United States at the number of daily disaster events (starvation, homelessness, child abuse), it is just as staggering as each of the world wide events. No media attention is focused other than a 60 Minutes segment of a blurb on the evening network news. What happens every day even in the United States and to a greater extent around the world is nothing short of a terratastrophy. We ignore the pain and suffering of the little events because we are not aware or do not care to be aware of them. No monumental loss of life or property, just the individual struggle of someone else, who with just a touch, may turn their lives around.
This is not something for the government. It was never the government’s job to provide people the ability to succeed. Government is there to provide a national defense, provide and enforce the minimum of laws to keep society from degenerating, and put up pretty buildings so we can all visit them and say oooh and aaah. Groups of people with common interests are the best source of help when it comes to assisting those that need a helping hand. Churches, Elks, Eagles, Moose, Masons, and a whole list of fraternal organizations are much better suited to create the environment of change than the government. Why does it continue to go on? That is a whole different topic.
Unfortunately, some time in the near future, we will be getting the “Lights, Camera, Action” of the next world wide tragedy. I am ready for my close up Mr. Demille.
Icool
Cobb
posted by Cobb at
6:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home