NYT: "A text-message moving among Mumbaikars expressed the uniqueness of the now: 'Brothers and sisters, it’s time to wake up and do something for the country — however little — related to this or not — start today and continue it through the years — do not forget as easily as we are used to forgetting.'
Many told themselves and each other that this time would change things, just as Americans had told themselves after 9/11. But they knew their own history, and America’s, and they seemed, even as they spoke the words, to disbelieve them already."
This is something that totally pissed me off about 9/11 and reading this about Mumbai is totally infuriating. It may be sort of unrelated to what this blog is supposed to be about, but I feel it's important. Why do we let horrible things happen and get all worked up about it, only to so quickly just let it go and become reabsorbed into our personal lives. Its like we pretend to care for awhile and then everyone just turns a blind eye. I always find myself ranting on here...
But seriously, what will it take for a change in attitude? A genocide? Or will even that not change anything? No one cares about fellow human beings - the sick, the wounded, the persecuted, nobody. Why are we divided by hate but not joined in compassion? Why do we think that being current on daily news articles about global events to promote our own awareness is enough, without ever contributing to change? Ugh.
Obama's message was really big for me in this respect - how we all have our own social responsibilities as well as being accountable for our own actions. I realize this sounds incredibly naive and idealistic, but who cares. It drives me crazy how I'll log on to cnn.com and some of the top headlines are "Man saves girl from alligator attack" or "Lindsay Lohan might be a lesbian were not really sure," but when I go to BBC news it's all about important issues such as political unrest abroad and actual stuff happening in the Middle East, not "Jessica Simpson performs for troops in Baghdad." The American media just caters to entertainment in so many instances, and I'm not sure if it's because Americans are dumb and only care about celebrities, or if the media's celebrity coverage is making us dumb.
NYT 11/29 - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/weekinreview/30giridharadas.html?pagewanted=2&hp