Disengage
The last couple of weeks reminds me why I'm glad that I don't watch TV and only seldom read the news. When I do, it's generally pretty nauseating. Have you ever followed a story out of morbid fascination, gut-clenching concern, and ultimately stop because you can't stomach any more of it? The chaos that overtook New Orleans in the wake of the hurricane is a prime example. I don't just mean the disease and death. I mean the opportunistic, trigger-happy, and desperate lunatics shooting at rescue helicopters and cops and each other. The complete breakdown of humanity.
Tried to hold some faith in the goodness of humanity
Not easy to do. I remember feeling disgusted at myself years ago when the Oklahoma bombing took place. I stared at the news and though I felt a measure of sadness, I didn't feel devastated. And that made me feel crappy. How can tons of people get killed and me not feel very sensitive to it? Because I was only 18 at the time? Because it happened somewhere else? Because I didn't know those people? I tried to figure out why. I cared about a lot of people at that age—why couldn't I connect to that tragedy on a personal level?
Well. Having seen firsthand the devastation of 9/11, I can say without a doubt that I have become sensitive to things—at times oversensitive. But not unusually so, I suppose. Others can be emotionally brought down as well. I figured the older you get, the less emphatic you'd be to such things, but at least in this stage of my life, that's not true. Things hurt more and more—when you see, when you understand, how such devastating events affect people.
But I also realize there's a point at which you have to stop and turn away. Because you can't function anymore when you're overloaded with tragedy. I don't think we're meant to dwell on things for too long. This is the curse of mass communication in the modern world. The news. Sometimes you just have to take in only so much, do what you can (and donate if you can, if it can help those people), and then turn away and try to smile again, try to laugh and remember that there are good moments in life, too.
In other news, another Escapee episode is up.
Tried to hold some faith in the goodness of humanity
Not easy to do. I remember feeling disgusted at myself years ago when the Oklahoma bombing took place. I stared at the news and though I felt a measure of sadness, I didn't feel devastated. And that made me feel crappy. How can tons of people get killed and me not feel very sensitive to it? Because I was only 18 at the time? Because it happened somewhere else? Because I didn't know those people? I tried to figure out why. I cared about a lot of people at that age—why couldn't I connect to that tragedy on a personal level?
Well. Having seen firsthand the devastation of 9/11, I can say without a doubt that I have become sensitive to things—at times oversensitive. But not unusually so, I suppose. Others can be emotionally brought down as well. I figured the older you get, the less emphatic you'd be to such things, but at least in this stage of my life, that's not true. Things hurt more and more—when you see, when you understand, how such devastating events affect people.
But I also realize there's a point at which you have to stop and turn away. Because you can't function anymore when you're overloaded with tragedy. I don't think we're meant to dwell on things for too long. This is the curse of mass communication in the modern world. The news. Sometimes you just have to take in only so much, do what you can (and donate if you can, if it can help those people), and then turn away and try to smile again, try to laugh and remember that there are good moments in life, too.
In other news, another Escapee episode is up.
posted by Jeff LaSala at 7:37 AM
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