U.S. should be more attentive
Campus Times
March 15, 2002
I sat in my room one day last semester, perched high above the streets
of Athens, Greece, and watched a nightly news segment on the CNN World News
report. As I watched the news of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict unravel
in front of my eyes, I realized how uninformed I was on foreign affairs.
This issue, which was tearing apart a nation about 100 miles east of
my then-home, has been developing for years, but I never completely understood
the gravity of the situation until I saw it on TV that night.
I watched that evening as innocent citizens in the streets of Israel,
close to the West Bank, dodged explosions and open gunfire. Some of those
on film carried other injured citizens who were entirely covered in blood,
while others ran from the TV frame, merely attempting to avoid being killed.
I saw human beings of various religions running for their lives because
they did not agree with the beliefs of another religion. This hatred confused
me, but through the months of my term abroad and after many nights of watching
international news, I realized that to some humans, this type of guerrilla
activity is just a way of life.
Last Saturday evening at popular cafés in Jerusalem and Netany,
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continued. Fourteen Israelis were killed,
including one baby. Both places were crowded when two blasts, set off by
suicide bombers, ripped through the buildings.
This latest development, which is finally making headlines in local
and national newspapers, comes as America's renewed peacemaking efforts
are just beginning. The United Nations Security Council just endorsed the
idea of a Palestinian state in Israel for the first time and demanded an
immediate cease-fire.
But digesting prominent international news is something most Americans
are not used to doing. It is something they fail to include in their everyday
routine.
Any day of the week, the top stories of most evening and afternoon news
deal with issues of cell phone cancer, shopping cart rage, or traffic reports.
And though international news develops at the same time as any other news,
it is pushed to later coverage. Audiences can often hear newscasters say,
"We are all of time tonight, but stay tuned for the national nightly
news where the (any international news goes here) will be further reported
on."
Maybe the responsibility lies in the hands of the media rather than
the viewing public, but wherever one places the blame, this general disregard
for international news is the reason Americans are seen as ignorant, uneducated
and unaware in most European countries.
Why do Americans remain uneducated about international issues? Why don't
they search for other news sources? These questions will exist as long as
people continue to receive their international news from late night talk
show comedians' opening monologues. How does one consider this to be a reliable
source of news?
And while Americans are laughing at these offensive jabs made about
(fill in any international news here), foreign citizens educate themselves
about issues of terrorism and cultural differences. This could certainly
be why so many Americans were caught off guard by the terrorist attacks
on Sept. 11.
Being oblivious to what is happening in the world is a characteristic
most Europeans do not understand. And why should they try to understand
it?
To them, being informed about world news is necessary in most social
circles, and anyone who cannot discuss these events is considered shallow,
superficial or trivial.
Witnessing such terror on the faces of innocent civilians is something
I was not accustomed to, nor is it something that I will quickly forget,
and being able to relate real emotions with foreign issues has allowed me
to become more involved with issues concerning foreign nations.
This practice, though not as easy (or enjoyable) as watching Letterman
and Leno, can allow all of us to become more involved with the future of
America and the future of our world.
Ryan MacDonald, a senior journalism major, is editor in chief of
the Campus Times. He can be reached by e-mail at macdonar@ulv.edu.
