Roughly 11 million traffic accidents occur each year in the U.S. Yet we (the awake, even semi-literate public) are made to feel we need to care about one that involves a celebrity. As if somehow the media feels they are more relevant or important or matter more than the rest of the 11 million. Sure, it’s tragic and unfortunate; yet wouldn’t the energy and effort spent chasing down the latest information on someone we’ll never meet and never know be better spent directed inward toward someone in our own community–or even in our own home?
I’m not a pop-culture hater–I’ve binge watched Dexter, Breaking Bad and House of Cards and can name two of the final four teams in the NBA playoffs (thank goodness they’re down to the Finals or I might have missed that one). So I’m not a complete fun-hater. Yet are we so devoid of relevant, meaningful family and social connections that we drive the media to play endless progress reports of one of 11M auto accidents?
As our neighborhoods and workplaces have sprawled, family sizes decreased and basic necessities of a comfortable life (on average) have become more easily attained we’ve continued to seek ways to find common connections. Combined with record amounts of free time, much of which is spent screen (TV and other) watching and we’ve cooked up our own recipe for constant gawking at people with little to no direct impact on our lives. Much in the name of trying to find or create a sense of community and belonging.
Solution? Call up a friend or relative and go to a game, get the dog in the car and take the drive to that park you’ve promised him for years you’d visit. Suck it up and take the trip to that elderly relative who’d likely give about anything to have a couple hours of your attention so she can tell you what things were like back in the day……