Newsworthy Enough

I am always surprised by violence on tv. It comes in the most innocent ways: a commercial for something on later in the day; a punctuation to nearly all news casts. People sit with eyes glued to the screen and don't even flinch.

But not me. I know what real life is. I understand the difference. But something about seeing dangerous and violent situations kicks in my self preservation instinct and an overwhelming sense of dread. I have to remove myself. 

Slowly and cautiously I try to sidestep violence and brutality in the media. It is increasingly harder to do with video games and news clips and free PG-13 or R movies on every channel. There are eons of sitdrams and overly zealous reporters on the 6:00 news thinking the gory details and videos of brutality are what we want to see.

It's not. When Prince William married, I guarantee you I did not want to see photos of his mother's mangled car and relive the details of her horrific death. On my marriage day, no one paraded pictures of my parents in their final moments.

Why would anyone want to go there with the flip of a switch and watch over and over our favorite actors being blown up and brutalized? Is it so appealing now that violence should be mainstreamed?

It makes me heartsick. I couldn't handle the violence and brutality in the 1970s. And today? Today I can't even sit still for most movies. I emphatically do NOT want to witness gory and vicious crimes as a helpless observer. It is not the least bit entertaining.

We seat belt our children in the back of the car, feed them the best and most wholesome foods, love and nurture them, teach them to walk and then later sit beside them on the sofa while Bruce Willis blows the head off an adversary and throws him out a five-story window. Right there with their hands in the popcorn bowl, we are teaching them something really important. We are showing them how inhabitable life will be.

I know the world is complicated. But it is my world, too. Why were our news crews so surprised when the Japanese people handled so graciously the series of recent devastating disasters? And when no one lashed out, wailed and moaned, or tossed blame around, why were they so willing to pack up and move on? Not newsworthy enough without the Western drama?

Who decided for us that violence is entertainment, anyway? And how can we voice a dissenting vote? Life is a real life, magnificent drama of wonderful experiences. Leave us to discover for ourselves what is in store rather than forcing the conclusion that it will be a vicious, unsafe and violent world.