I turned on the news today and watched for over an hour while pundits went back and forth about Hilary vs. Obama. I think I speak for most everyone when I say I'm sick of it. Not because I'm a republican, but because I'm tired of every night turning on the news and hearing that the top news story is Hilary vs. Obama. Is there nothing else going on in our world? A food fight broke out in Mogadishu, Somalia today. People there in Northeast Africa can't afford the food costs for the little food they can purchase to begin with, costs have soared over 40% in the last month alone. Government troops fired into the crowd and killed 2 people during the demonstration. People died simply because they were demanding the basic essential of life - food - be offered at a reasonable cost. Does this bother no one? Is Hilary, Obama, or McCain more important? Because by the looks of the media, it seems that way. Do you know how much time the media gave to this story in Somalia? less than 20 seconds. Commercials for Taco Bell last longer than 20 seconds. You know what "story" followed the mention of the food fight in Somalia? The cyclone in Myanmar. The news said they feared the death toll could reach 5,000. The front page of the paper that morning said as many as 350 were feared dead. Now the online reports are saying the death toll has exceeded 13,000... Does anyone else care about this kind of thing? I realize it takes a little while for news to travel from a third world source back here to America, and that at the time of the paper's pressing, perhaps the death toll was just starting to come in, hence the reports of 350. But now it's over 13,000. That's more than 12,650 people that have since been reported dead. That's 13,000 people wiped off the face of planet earth, gone to spend an eternity either in heaven or hell. I'm not being melodramatic. I'm simply calling for a greater interest and awareness in the world at large. You know how much time the media gave to the cyclone story? about 30 seconds. Then they went into another 45 minute block of the same old same old we've seen over and over the past 5 months and will continue to see until November: Obama vs. Hilary. Don't we still have boys on the ground in Iraq? What happened over there today? Oh my bad, I forgot... the media only reports the bad news now. Like when a roadside bomb kills a convoy full of soldiers. Then they're all ears, demanding that we pull out and end the war. I'm not a war monger. I despise war. But I also despise a national media that turns a blind eye to the suffering around the world, playing mere lip service to international disasters and only broadcasting the news that suites their interests and ideals. Spend some time outside of America. Then you'll begin to realize what a narcissistic complex this great country has. I realize I'm being a bit naive, but I want to simply know one thing: why? Why should someone born half a world away be denied the same things someone born here is entitled to? Why are some not entitled to simple things like clean water, basic education, decent standards of living, and religious freedom? I know life is not fair and the world is fallen. I just find it incredibly frustrating living in a culture and society where most people couldn't even locate Somalia or Myanmar on a map, but they can tell you everything about the latest Paris Hilton headline or Hannah Montana tour. Septemeber 11th woke this nation up to the world around us, but I feel that for the most part, we've returned to our exclusive lifestyle and fallen asleep again. I pray it doesn't take another 9/11 to reawaken the great sleeping giant of America. I love this land. I just wish this land loved their neighbors around the world more. It's not about us, at least not nearly as much as we think it is... Any thoughts? I blog because I care.
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