looking away from war

a brief, spot-on editorial in today's newsday by josh gamson (sociology, university of san francisco) about popular media's irrational ability to turn our attention away from that which matters. from the piece:

Certainly the loss of JonBenet Ramsey 10 years ago is a sad event, especially for her family, but the deaths that have been taking place now in Iraq, Lebanon and Israel, to name a few spots, are no less so. That they are not perpetrated by sick individuals but through organized violence makes them sadder and more newsworthy. That they are so easily pushed aside for the Karr Show is grotesque.

"A character made of tidbit and rumor" - august 27, 2006.