Tragedies in the Media

I usually write about real estate related topics and condos, but there is another issue I would like to address today.  We hear about horrible tragedies from across the world every day in the media.  Media and technology have allowed us to be immersed in war, terrorism, natural disasters, famine, genocide, and mass murders.  Then along come stories about has been models who have tried desperately to gain media attention their whole lives but never done anything of any real value to society.  Suddenly they overdose and it’s the biggest story in the world and goes of for weeks.  All mention of the war and other matters of global importance are even touched on.  This in itself is a tragedy.

This brings about the question of balance and how we choose to assign levels of importance to our media stories.  The horrible tragedy at Virginia Tech where so many people lost their lives to a depraved coward certainly deserves the support of our nation.  Media can be a great tool for uniting people in support of a cause or in support of the aftermath of a tragedy.  The Virginia Tech shooting has been covered on every newswire, newspaper, online resource, magazine, and even the cover of Time. 

How do we value tragedies where victims of circumstance loose their lives over a war where young Americans volunteer to defend our freedom and give their lives willingly?  You will not see media coverage on a daily basis about the eighteen and nineteen year olds that die each month, or the father of three that dives on a grenade to save his buddies’ lives.  We don’t see the faces of our soldiers who are permanently crippled or blind on the cover Time magazine.  We do occasionally, of course, but not at any memorable level.  The American people may not want to be reminded that we are at war every day and many do not (or no longer) support the war.  It is indeed a reality however that everyone should face whether they support it or not.   

I served in Iraq and I am definitely in support of pulling our troops out as the timing is right.  We have been there long enough and too many people have died.  The volumes of lives lost in this war are nothing like Vietnam, but we certainly do not want it to get to that point.  But is Anna Nicole Smith more important than our soldiers who volunteered willingly to fight and die?  Are the college students at Virginia Tech more important than there patriotic Americans.  Obviously not. 

One of the reasons I started New Condos Online with Brandon Fishman was to be able donate to charities such as the Naval Special Warfare Foundation in support of the families of our fallen Navy SEALs.  More people need to get involved helping the families of our fallen soldiers because the families are the backbone of our military.  Our troops would be nothing without the support of their loved ones at home.  It saddens me to see the media choosing to spend all their time focusing on the unfortunate death of a former model, over supporting our soldiers.