I read the other day that one of the addictive things about news, whether you get it from the web, from the paper, or radio or TV, is that we watch to see what bad things have happened so that we feel better that they're not about us, or our neighborhood, or whatever.
I have to admit that's true about me, as I suspect it is for you. I'll look at CNN on the web when I get up, with an eye on what's happened in Iraq. If there are stories about military injuries or deaths, I especially look at them. When I find the incident is about someone from another branch or another unit, and can sumise that John is okay, I feel relief.
Eloise remarked on the same thing the other day. Neither of us like being that way. It seems so wrong. While not our son, it is someone's son.
But it also works the other way too. Tears regularly come to my eyes watching reports of marines dying and families grieving. And part of the reason is that it could be about me and mine. I'm more aware of what's going on and the consequences than I otherwise would be.
I'm still concerned about how addictive news is, and the way we process it.
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