The American tapestry, how it heals my soul and warms my
heart. On the day of the Boston Marathon bombing on my way home listening to
BBC radio some critics of the media coverage called it disgusting how disproportionate
it was considering the recent terrorists attacks in Iraq and drone strike in
Pakistan that mistakenly killed children among a group of Taliban militants.
They were shocked over the wall to wall relentless coverage they felt was
numbing, both in the US and in the UK. They are right. Although teary eyed
listening to some of the speeches they felt rhetorical even pointless. The
media should in fact craft the most pressing news balanced from the most loss
or dread. The West Texas fertilizer plant disaster did not get nearly enough of
the coverage it should have gotten perhaps under the same token, because it
would be pointless and without a direct purpose for discussion or debate, the
controversy that thrives on cable news outlets. There are so many issues that
can be turned into a sensational vehicle to shock awe inspire and yes, entertain
the viewer of news. Likewise could the substance.
The looting of the global economy by the corrupt financial
establishment and the legal corruption it depends on alone could very well fill
every minute of the news day with substance and a constant stream of
investigative journalism we could all grasp and digest with the right sleight
of hand, or wave of the magic “newsie” wand of headlines and literation
graphics and sound effects. Evidence
that the media is in fact a conglomerate corporate entity is most evident in
its super efficiency and cost effective approach of less as more. Big stories
garner quick plane flights with crews for live shots to front stories and have
their highly paid talent at the scene to provide the “coverage” like a blanket
of cream skimming the surface and generalizing while disseminating all the
information. One of the BBC talkers blasted twitter as dangerous in the wake of
the false information it had spread about the Islamic man being questioned who
was never a suspect but managed to make its way as headline news on the NY
Post. There are many ways in which the media can warp our sensibilities and
distort our perspectives but the endless vigils, makeshift memorials, videos of
people singing like when the crowd took over the national anthem at the Bruins
game, or when they sang in the street for no reason other than to express their
love for humanity, or when the crowds came out and cheered the police in
Watertown. No, that is not disgusting, that is not distorted, that is not disproportionate.
That
is the American Identity. That is holding onto something we all love more than
our lives as American; our freedom. The terrorism and war born carnage in
Africa, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, and so on until there is no more hate exists outside
of this freedom we enjoy. It is the loss of this freedom that we fear most. That
hope of democracy, that dream of liberty, is a blanket we swaddle in, like a
shield against all ills. We are outraged, like the terrorists’ uncle in
Maryland. How could an American kill innocent Americans? It is inexplicable for us to believe that
anyone who tastes the freedom and opportunity here in America can turn around
and senselessly kill in the name of some theocratic abstraction bent on ultra
conservative repression, especially in a land where Amish and Hassidics live peacefully
and on their own terms. Are we blind? Of
course. Are we weak? Yes we are very weak and fragile. So much so that
demonstrations of our courage and conviction whenever we can are cherished
despite our feet being deep in the belly of a thieving beast billowing smoke
that blinds and dulls our senses coarsely and erroneously. But that hope can
never die. That need to feel united in our love of liberty shows itself
whenever it is, framed whenever the trumpets sound. So please do cover the marches, the singing,
the candles lit, the 1-800 numbers that bring aid to the afflicted. It must
remain rare to have our society so endangered, for it is too costly a price
upon the altar of freedom for the innocent to be so harmed without displaying
such evil as an extremely rare and foreign anomaly.
