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Man, They Are Still On That Shooting.
by James Glaser January 19, 2010 
You have to know if a member of Congress or a federal judge had not been shot at that supermarket in Arizona that story would be old news by now. Even if someone, let's say a school teacher, were making the recovery that Gabrielle Giffords is making, we wouldn't hear about it. However, because Giffords is one of America's elite, we still get almost hourly updates on her condition and improvements. I think this story shows us just how important the media portrays our elected officials in Washington, and just how important those officials feel they are. A member of Congress is shot, and Congress shuts down. A member of Congress is shot, and there are television specials on almost every channel, and on some channels, several specials. If you or I are shot, even in a mass killing, we are forgotten after that first 30 seconds on the nightly news. You and I are not important. Out of the 300 plus million people who live in the United States, only a few thousand are special, and that tells us the value of a person's life is not the same for everybody. You don't believe me? Today we don't even hear the names of our troops who are killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are lead to believe they are very important because they are protecting our freedom and way of life. But make no mistake, unless you are a Soldier or Marine that lost three or more limbs, nobody will ever hear that you were wounded, because you are not one of America's "special' people. It all boils down to the fact that we have the "haves" and the "have-nots," which can be interpreted as the rich, and the rest of us. Because a couple of the elites or special Americans got shot in Tucson, we will be hearing about this story for a long time to come. |
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