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February 1, 2003
A nation full of whiners? Perhaps...
Dave Taylor writes in this blog post that perhaps we're a nation of whiners. I think understanding this nation in terms of sensitivity is a little complex because of a couple of factors including desensitivity due to media and oversensitivity due to isolation from serious tragedy. I think we're exposed to it but unless something "hits home" like 9-11 or a suicide bomber blowing up a cafe on YOUR street corner, we're not truly exposed to the massive amount of tragedy that happens in the world. I know it's a gross generalization and there are many exceptions.
"But I don't understand what we find so compelling as a nation about tragedies of this nature.", and "By contrast, a few days ago a helicopter crashed in Afghanistan killing all four aboard. No-one cared, other the the immediate families." sprung some thoughts after I saw a comentator on MSNBC talk about how the thing these people had most in common was "The Dream".
I'm not talking about the dream of shooting fellow humans on the battle field or protecting our country but about furthering science and entertaining the imagination. This isn't to say that those in the armed services are any less than astronauts or their deaths are less worthy. In my opinion, someone dying is someone dying regardless of anything.
But to say "I don't understand what we find so compelling as a nation about tragedies of this nature" appears to question how one death can mean more than another.
I do agree with the Salon.com article about "The kitschification of Sept. 11" and the notion that " America hid from the harsh realities of the attack behind a maudlin curtain of heavenly firemen and weeping angels." I think we as a country have a tendency to not realize or not know how to deal with tragedy so we hide behind supposedly symbolic cherubic elements of that particular tragedy. Either way, those that die while achieving their dreams which never involved taking a human life should give us all pause.
Posted by beamz at February 1, 2003 11:53 PM