Like millions of others, this week has focused our minds on President Trump, Syria, North Korea and the latest ‘incident’ in Afghanistan. But how much did it really shock us? Of course anyone with half a brain would be concerned. As two old ladies talking on the bus today commented, “Do you think there’ll be a war?” said old lady one. Old lady two, “Yes, don’t you?” “Looking at WW3.”said One. “Afraid so.” said two.
A casual conversation. Could be discussing anything, day in the park, lunch, WW3. Have our attitudes changed so much? Can we, society be shocked anymore?
I think maybe, but it will take a lot.
Lets look at this in more detail. WW1 saw photography used to document war and its horror, but to many it wasn’t real. WW2 saw the holocaust shown on film, still it wasn’t real to many were not directly impacted by it.
The 1960s to my generation saw TV available to many and news beamed directly, visually to our homes.
I remember as a child seeing on tv the Aberfan Disaster. (see link below) 1966: Aberfan – a generation wiped out…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/21/newsid_3194000/3194860.stm
For those of you who don’t know, a school was buried under tons of coal slag after heavy rain, 116 children and 28 adults died. People were glued to TVs, and news in the cinemas. Yes, we showed news in our cinemas before the films back then. I digress, it was the main topic of the adults around me. It affected people in a profound, permanent way.
“More significantly however, I remember this as the day my Mom stopped believing in God. She could not understand how he had allowed so many people and children to die so horribly. ” Ruth, UK BBC News: On this Day 1950-1985 : http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/default.stm
I remember even as a child adults crying, in the street, at the shops. Great sadness, anger, questions “How could this happen?” It changed how mining companies, the government dealt with these common phenomena, dotted around all mining areas in the UK. Many were removed , others were made safe at a cost of £millions.
Anyone remember 14th March 1996, yes? No? How about the place, Dunblane ? (See link below): Dunblane Massacre 1996
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/mar/14/dunblane-massacre-scotland-killing
Another tragic event in our recent history. 30 years following Aberfan. 15 children and their teacher died in the school and another child in hospital, shot by a crazed gunman. An adult now, I knew the outrage, the anger, stemming from a helplessness, outrage that this could happen. But did I see adults crying in the streets, a few. In private behind closed doors I’m sure many more. The TV for many days, had this as a the main story. rightly so, it was a big story, raised lots of issues. Started campaigns for stricter gun laws. It changed the law, how we sentenced those convicted of gun crimes.
Syria (April 4th 2017), 31 years further on in our history. The world through technology is a much smaller place, we lived through 9/11 , where I watched live TV showing people jumping from the upper floors of the tower, endless US school massacres, Japans Tsunami, Chernobyl, the Kuwait conflict, Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction. Beheadings of kidnapped prisoners on You Tube. Getting my point?
So back to Syria, (see link below)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/05/syria-gas-attack-sobbing-father-cradles-dead-twins-19-family/
“More than 80 people have been killed” stated the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39500947) on the 7th of April, the western world shocked by the death of Syrian civilians, many of them children, killed allegedly by Sarin gas, (I say allegedly because the powers that be are still arguing over the whos, whats and whys.). Was there, is there anger? Yes. Tears in the streets? Not many in the UK. We don’t cry over tragedy any more. Don’t be so outraged, we don’t. Think about it. Images of dead children don’t shock us as they once did.
Those iconic photos of Hiroshima/Nagasaki, of Vietnam. You know the ones I mean, of the children naked, burnt. These shocked , horrified ‘civilised’ society. These were rare images, today we witness daily horrific images in our newspapers, TV news and documentaries. In the films we watch even in some of our popular TV shows. Video sites have shown horrific images of executions, ok later removed or blocked.
We re desensitised. That screen in our home often doesn’t even warrant a glance as the news parades mages of the dead and dying. We skip past horrific images in our newspapers. Of course people still care, of course these things are still horrific. But it doesn’t affect us like it would have 50, 30, 10 years ago. Its a different world for those of us living in the 21st century. I believe it’s a sadder, less emotional world we now live in. It’s a world of poorer values. We have moral outrage but less moral responsibility. Ironically charities for famine, water, clothing and other aid blanket these same channels. We feed off that screen on our wall, do we really watch it, take real notice of what its telling us? Do we question what we see on TV? Read in our newspapers, magazines? Social media once the bedrock of free speech along with the popular press now has false news stories. Fake news.
We are brainwashed. What should we believe? Who do we believe?
I call upon all you lovely people to ask what is happening in our world? To question what you look at.
In-fact stop looking and start seeing. Stop hearing and start listening.
Philomath 