I just got back from eating lunch at my regular spot across the street. I love their tea and most of their food, but I don’t care for the steady stream of network news running in the otherwise serene and small restaurant dining area. I couldn’t help but notice, and become quite interested in, the constant reporting of swine flu. They were marketing their news via television, reminding me that I could follow everything online, and even get updates on my cell phone (if I had one).
There was almost a euphoric sense to their story coverage. They also gave me the scoop on the handful of notable murderers and so on. Here is my point: The media loves to watch us, and help us watch others, die, suffer, and kill each other. During the political season they love to help us hate each other under the guise of becoming responsible citizens. The business of daily news feeds of the worst the human condition can conjure up. And we worship it.
We spend our mornings, lunchtimes, evenings, and more, feeding on each other. Unlike the games of Rome, that would attract attention to appease and stupify the Roman public from time to time, we are always plugged into the bloody games of news and T.V. It is no wonder, then, that we have so little time to live and love and be still. We cannot resist the gladiatoresque collesiums of the popular media and their seemingly endless love to see us die, or even better, kill each other.
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