18 May 2009

While I was in Vietnam in 1969, and after returning to the United States, I was constantly reminded of the difference between what I saw on the news about the country and the reality I had known.  Media covers the sensational events of the day, but they may depict a very small portion of what's happening  in a broader sense.  I was reminded of this when I recently found that my taxi driver was from Pakistan; a good place to be from at the moment, I said.  He strugged; it's not so bad; not nearly like what they report on the news.

History is also much like that.  Much has happened in thousands of years; much happened every day.  Historians cover the highlights - that which mattered at the moment.  What was it like three miles south?  Often it was quite different.  During the Middle Ages war was often much like a game  , and the locals were left unaffected - until, of course, they weren't, and then it was much different - but usually not universal.

The daily news coverage is like that.  Riots, strikes, terrorist attacks, robberies, murders, even genocide.  It is as if the world is swirling into chaos, but the chaos is often localized, sometimes dramatically localized - and sensationalized.  It's like reading about terrible storms "all over" creating awful destruction, yet when I look at the window it's not even raining.  The world is like that.

We need keep this in mind when we watch the TV news or peruse the headlines.  It's a much wider world than we see on TV highlights.  Yet we must also remember that when we are in the middle of it  it is difficult to maintain such subjectivity.  Layoffs are not a problem, unless one is caught up in one.  Auto accidents happen every day - so what?  unless they include us.  Perspective.