Comments on A bit of historical perspective on 9/11/2006

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Yes, unfortunately, it does

Dear LRC.:

     Point taken. Thanks for reading this rather lenghty blog and responding with insight.

      Yer buddy,

       Rarmcwa

 

posted by Rarmcwa on September 14, 2006 at 7:27 AM | link to this | reply

Good points and I agree they're refreshing to read.

My only caveat would be you have to consider that perhaps the vulnerable populations have been reduced because the violence against them succeeded.  If you ethnically cleanse all but a smattering of Serbs from the Serbian province of Kosavo you won't have ethnic war there again for a while.  The problem with genocide is it works.

posted by LeRoyCoyote on September 13, 2006 at 1:06 PM | link to this | reply

Dear Friends:

:
   Sure, it's hard not to slow down and look for blood on the pavement, but there are a great numeber of  misconceptions about what constitute genuine threats vs. perceived threats. The safest travel means in the world are NASA space vehicles.  They've logged more passenger miles with fewer fatalities than cars, airplanes, trains, oecan liners or anything else. And airline travel is considerably safer than driving to the corner for a gallon of milk; look it up if you don't believe me. But when an airliner goes down, it's a large, dramtatic event, so some people are scared to fly.

    As a journalist, I know a bleeder is a leader, but I've always spent considerable time looking for the stories about less dramatic, more important issues: city council meetings, school board activities, clubs, churches, charities, family stories (I've done a few veteran stories which were fascinating: I interviewed a macnine-gunner who landed in the first wave at Tarawa and a sailor who was on deck the day Doolittle took off to bomb Tokyo). These features tell moch more about the human condition, but everybody slows down to look for blood on the pavement: that's hardwired into our survival instincts. My message is, sure, go ahead and report it, even lead with it ... just don't inflate its importance in the greater scheme of things.
   

posted by Rarmcwa on September 12, 2006 at 5:57 AM | link to this | reply

What a Refreshing Post!

One of the reasons I keep renewing my subscription to Blogit -- so far -- is because if you wade through enough posts one is likely to stumble upon something one would never see posted in mass media. Your post about the relative decline in violence -- as contrasted against the bloodiest period in world history (1914-1945) -- is food for thought. It is the kind of perspective that the sensationalist mass media would never print -- at least not on the front page.

I think a case can be made, however, for the increase of violence as represented by regional wars, narco-terrorism, genocide, etc. Sadly, there seems to be an increase in destabilization around the world in this post-Cold War period, even if the actual casualties do not yet rival those of the World Wars.

Also, we must keep in mind that more soldiers are surviving injuries in these conflicts so that while the body count may be down, by comparison, the number of casualties with serious permanent injuries has been climbing. Better alive than dead, to be sure -- but this should also keep us on guard against being too convinced of declining global violence.

But I like the sentiment expressed in your post, and it is refreshing to read something that accents the positive for a change -- and to read a post that is not heavily laden with the language of "us and them."

posted by writersjourney on September 11, 2006 at 9:47 PM | link to this | reply

Rarmcwa, "If it bleeds, it leads", the journalistic maxim I've heard for

years, and a cynical view on the public's appetites. Are we conditioned to want what we're given, or is the public so bloodthirsty?  Your premise and arguments are interesting, that the world is actually less violent than ever, with fewer casualties.  It's an interesting intellectual exercise, but somehow, in my heart, these particular casualties hit a little too close to home to be intellectual about for me. 

But, it is a bright thought.

posted by Blanche. on September 11, 2006 at 3:35 PM | link to this | reply