Commentary
The Glass is… in Serious Need of Cleaning
Friday night I was out for dinner with one of my clients and his staff. We were bidding a former member goodbye and fare well in her pursuit of newer pastures green. In amongst the crowd of English & Irish expats, there were two Spanish girls who I see on occasion at the reception area where they all work. We’d never really had a chance to socialise and this proved a great night to get talking. We immediately agreed on how bad television can be for one’s mental health – how it distracts us from our so-called boring lives by showing us how bad and ugly the outside world appears to be. But my discrepancy lies in how normal and drama-free our personal worlds often are. Most of us live in ‘civilised’ areas, where there is no hint of warfare, starvation or devastating climates. Train derailments are so far and few between that yes, they are shocking when they happen, but are admittedly far less frequent than in the Asian subcontinent, for example. Most of our air traffic is quite up to date as well so no great worries about falling out of the sky either. So you could say that our lives are far less ‘endangered’ than the lives of those living in known areas of conflict. So why then, do we have this drummed into our brains, why are we constantly shown only a piece of a world that is only falling apart in selected areas? Why are we not kept more up to date on advances to improve our educational systems, provide more efficient healthcare, reduce negative environmental impact, aid the poorer members of our own communities as well as those in countries that are in conflict…
It’s all well and good to be kept informed of the ‘outside’ world, unlike many countries whose governments and media keep their population in a bubble of isolationism; but when we are shown images of the outside world, why are we only shown the bodies of those who have been murdered by ignorants in far away countries – why are we not told about agreements being reached behind the scenes to improve trade that will aid stability and development? Why are we only shown the artificially ravaged carcasses of slain African elephants but not informed about improved funding, monitoring and protection to safeguard the species and reduce ivory trade? Why are we shown only angry crowds demonstrating against a government’s policy on terrorism when said country hardly sees a bomb scare anymore and is in a delicate stage of transition between ongoing acts of violence and some form of peace?
Why have we allowed ourselves to become disinterested in all these necessary and positive issues, when we know just how badly the rest of the news affects us? You who wake up jaded at life, tired of paying your mortgage, wondering why you go to work stressed if the rest of the world seems to be eroding in violence that’s waiting to hit you… remember to take a closer look at the world you know, the world you live in day to day, and appreciate the positive things that surround you. It’s not so bad after all, is it… or am I missing something?
