I just discovered that both Newsweek and Time have put out different cover stories (that are lighter and more frivolous) for the US reading public than for everybody else in the entire world. While others are reading about the the jihadists in Afghanistan we are reading about Annie Leibovitz (Newsweek). And while the rest of the world reads about Talibanistan we in the US are treated to a cover story of thepros and cons of teaching the Bible in the classroom (Time). What’s wrong with this picture? Is it that we as citizens are naturally not globally interested or resist such difficult and unpleasant information? Or, is that there is a need to keep us unaware of what the rest of the world can easily observe about our foreign policies? As people of faith, how can we be as wise as serpents in staying aware of and critiquing the ways of the world if there is a concerted effort to keep us, not only harmless as doves, but as blind as bats!
nemoforone | 04-Apr-07 at 5:12 am | Permalink
What about the possibility of pulling out of Iraq, letting Iran invade and lose resources fighting their own kind,
and then come in and mop up the dregs?
Deb Dunbar | 04-Apr-07 at 1:40 pm | Permalink
I think this is one legitimate way of looking at this. I don’t mean to defend the publications you mention, but I do think that we all need downtime in our physical, intellectual, spiritual lives. Could it be that we become numb to the horrors of war when we read about it daily? Could it be that a break from the painful news allows us to more fully respond and comprehend at another sitting?
I attended the funeral of a Jewish family member on Monday morning, the eve of Passover. The rabbi spent a good deal of time explaining Jewish law to the mourners, and their obligation to move from a time of intense grief to a time of celebration, all in the same day. I was stunned by what seemed a callous interpretation of Jewish law, and a neglect of the reality of this family’s loss. I talked with a dear Jewish friend at seder last night about my sadness for the family, and the brevity of their shiva ritual. She explained to me that even in the face of sadness and loss, we stop to celebrate the joys and freedoms too- the human heart is full and capable of so much. The sadness is not discounted nor dismissed, but takes it’s rightful place beside the celebrations.
Could the editors of our mainstream publications be on to something?
Jeff | 04-Apr-07 at 1:50 pm | Permalink
nemoforone– their own kind? My kind too, then.