On "Small" Tragedies
Yet another way in which it turns out that I think like C.S. Lewis did: In his autobiography of his early life, he mentioned how he was never much moved by tales of wars and battles, because the struggles of the many did not affect him. It was the struggles of small groups or individuals that affected him.
I remember back after 11 Sep being really bothered by all of the news the event received for a long time after the fact. I am not saying it should not have received attention -- of course it should. But did we really need to know about the rescue dogs and their take on things? It seemed to me like the news companies just wanted to make a profit off of the death of many, because the deaths of a few does not merit attention. But do not misunderstand me here. I have no love of reporters, but they need to make money like everyone else. It bothers me that such a thing works; it bothers me that people are bothered so much more when lots of people die together at one time and place and ignore the daily deaths of just as many people who happen to be in other places at different times.
Everyone was talking about it. Everyone was saying how terrible it was. Everyone was emoting sadness for all who died -- even if they were not personally affected. In fact it seemed to be assumed that everyone should be emotionally affected, even if they did not have loved ones who died. Why are people like this? I do not get it. Why is it that not everyone is emotionally affected by the countless average Joes and Janes who die every day yet when large numbers of people all die at once everyone mourns? I think that is hardly fair to the memory of people who do not die in large groups.
I feel the same way about the tsunami. The fact that the death toll keeps rising does not intrigue me. It is nothing I bring up in conversation. It is nothing I follow up on in the news. It does not affect me. I should not feel any special need to know what is going on. I am sad for those who died. I pray for the families who are suffering, but why should I make this event in history something more important than the fact that people are murdered each night in my city.
Yet I read about the isolated stories here and there about small groups of people and their personalized tales. One surfer survived the tsunami by surfing the first wave. It threw him conveniently on the deck of his motel, where his family happened to be watching. They were able to escape. Many people survived, because their elephants started acting weird. One man's wife went into labor during the tragedy. The baby was delivered without doctors and is healthy. He was named Tsunami. On a sadder note, one man was found dead with his arms wrapped around his daughters to try to protect them. These tales of humanity interest me, because they are about survival and about being human. A rising death toll says little about humanity except that humans are very fragile creatures who's lives can end at any moment. But this is how life has always been....
I hope that I have been clear enough. I suppose if you read this quickly, you will think me too harsh. I am not claiming to not care about big disasters; I am asking why people tend to only care about big tragedies. What about the "small" ones?
I remember back after 11 Sep being really bothered by all of the news the event received for a long time after the fact. I am not saying it should not have received attention -- of course it should. But did we really need to know about the rescue dogs and their take on things? It seemed to me like the news companies just wanted to make a profit off of the death of many, because the deaths of a few does not merit attention. But do not misunderstand me here. I have no love of reporters, but they need to make money like everyone else. It bothers me that such a thing works; it bothers me that people are bothered so much more when lots of people die together at one time and place and ignore the daily deaths of just as many people who happen to be in other places at different times.
Everyone was talking about it. Everyone was saying how terrible it was. Everyone was emoting sadness for all who died -- even if they were not personally affected. In fact it seemed to be assumed that everyone should be emotionally affected, even if they did not have loved ones who died. Why are people like this? I do not get it. Why is it that not everyone is emotionally affected by the countless average Joes and Janes who die every day yet when large numbers of people all die at once everyone mourns? I think that is hardly fair to the memory of people who do not die in large groups.
I feel the same way about the tsunami. The fact that the death toll keeps rising does not intrigue me. It is nothing I bring up in conversation. It is nothing I follow up on in the news. It does not affect me. I should not feel any special need to know what is going on. I am sad for those who died. I pray for the families who are suffering, but why should I make this event in history something more important than the fact that people are murdered each night in my city.
Yet I read about the isolated stories here and there about small groups of people and their personalized tales. One surfer survived the tsunami by surfing the first wave. It threw him conveniently on the deck of his motel, where his family happened to be watching. They were able to escape. Many people survived, because their elephants started acting weird. One man's wife went into labor during the tragedy. The baby was delivered without doctors and is healthy. He was named Tsunami. On a sadder note, one man was found dead with his arms wrapped around his daughters to try to protect them. These tales of humanity interest me, because they are about survival and about being human. A rising death toll says little about humanity except that humans are very fragile creatures who's lives can end at any moment. But this is how life has always been....
I hope that I have been clear enough. I suppose if you read this quickly, you will think me too harsh. I am not claiming to not care about big disasters; I am asking why people tend to only care about big tragedies. What about the "small" ones?