About New Orleans and TV News

I don’t have to tell you of the horrors going on in Louisiana, Mississippi and other areas raved by Hurricane Katrina. I myself have avoided much of the coverage except reading updates on internet news sites. It isn’t because I don’t care: I do. You would be inhuman not too. However I remember the aftermath of 9/11. I sat in front of TV during any downtime and watched the coverage. I sank into a malaise brought on by hours and hours of desperation and death. It did nothing to remedy the situation, and only made mine worse.

That is part of the trouble with TV news. It takes a heartbreak like this and feeds and feeds and feeds it to you until it consumes you. For them it is tragedy as entertainment: each sad story to designed to keep you tuned in while commercials are sold for higher rates because of the rise in viewership.

I say be respectful. Help these people through charitable organizations or, a more radical idea, get up out of your E-Z chair planted in front of the TV and donate some of that time for making a difference. We must learn from the mistakes that led to this, and use it to build a better future. Just don’t let yourself become a slave to it.