We have become a nation of voyeurs...

I'm wondering if anyone else is feeling the same terrible sense of dislocation that I am. I woke two mornings ago, on a cold crisp November's day, to the news that Istanbul had been hit by a terrorist bombing.. As on September 11th, my sleepy eyes could barely encompass what they were witnessing on the screen, much less my fogged brain understand how this could still be happening. The faces of the terrorised victims, the blood, the screams filled my world with horror..once again. I left the room weeping for the innocents who had suffered for mens savage certitude in their right to kill for a cause.

This was an event that changed another nation forever. Yet, in spite of the death and destruction, the relevance to ALL our lives.. what did the stations carry all day? That's right.. the breaking news, of such huge global relevance, that pop star Michael Jackson was being charged with child molestation. Every station, even CNN, carried the live breaking story all day.


What is wrong with this picture? How could anyone equate the charging and arrest of a fading pop legend, with the brutality inflicted on Turkey, or anywhere else for that matter?

Where are our priorities in this country? Have we become so enured to violence, has war become so sanitised, we no longer can react as human beings?

Look at us! Less than 50% of us vote in most major elections, but here in California the turnout was over 70% for a movie star with no political experience.

We have become a nation of voyeurs. There is little held sacred here in this country anymore. People go on camera and projectile vomit their family secrets, confess affairs, addictions and more in front of millions of viwers. The lives of the stars hold endless fascination for us, So much so, many fail to percieve the inequity in their treatment at the hands of the courts, in comparison with the majority of people in this country. Case in point: Michael Jackson. Anyone else standing accused of this type of criminal sex offense, not his first, would have had their children summarily removed from their homes. Yet, he retains custody. Why?

Arnie, our erstwhile new Governor here in California, fared very poorly in his one and only debate. In fact he was caught cold, with facts over his much vaunted afterschool program, which is not running in California.

Why? Because.. it is contingent on matching state funds. Yet throughout his campaign run,he continued to represent it as up and running. His wife Maria, had the unmitigated audacity to inform a group of female supporters, "You'll vote for my husband if you know what's good for you" Anyone bothered by this? This is not sour grapes folks, but a protest against not paying attention, not caring enough to really understand issues.


As for Iraq and our policies in the Middle East. We have men and women dying for a principle here. The Iraqis are dying because they had the sheer misfortune to be caught between a brutal wily dictator and us.


Kill the bastards I've heard it said. Really? Which bastards are we speaking of here? The ones in Whitehall and the White House? Oh certainly not. The average Iraqi who wants the exact same thing every decent human being on this planet wants: peace, a living wage, freedom to worship and above all the right to live in their homelands without being bombed into oblivion? Why yes.. those bastards. The ones who bleed just like we do, who love just as much as we do, are the bastards spoken of by the ignorant.

How about the Turks? Not even Arab, punished by those who have decided they hold the moral high ground. Do we even care? The silent majority? Is it just reality TV and not that entertaining?

All those who died in this war, are in one way or another, including our Armed Forces, victims of our indifference. We have lost over 400 lives in Iraq to date. 400 lives. The Iraqis have staggering numbers of dead and wounded. And the toll continues to rise day by day, as we sit there endlessly fascinated with the lives of the stars.

This great nation was built on certain principles, not the least, truth, justice, honour and compassion for others. It seems to me, the great heart of America is dying by inches. Lulled into extinction by the narcotic of unreality and indifference