Two Cents

One of today's political cartoons showed 7 newspapers, one for each day of the week, all bearing the headline "Dozens Killed - Iraq." The caption was "A Virginia Tech massacre every day."
The message? North America's troubles are paltry and few when compared to the atrocities of war.
It's true. We do have it relatively easy over here. Most of us have the necessities of life, if not all the amenities, and we haven't seen actual combat on our soil since the days when every single vegetable was organic. The question is, should we ignore our problems because they pale in comparison to the problems of Iraq or Darfur? Should we shunt articles on our domestic crises to page 3, reserving the headlines solely for Iraqi body counts?
When Don Imus was fired last week, I heard a lot of grumbling that he shouldn't even have made the headlines: Iraq is more important. I agree, Iraq is important...but isn't it at all significant that 40+ years after the civil rights movement and 30 years since women's lib, racism and sexism are still so entrenched in the American psyche that a supposedly intelligent, widely admired radio personality can refer to women as "nappy-headed hos" without batting an eye?
In my opinion, it is. We have selective attention for a reason; so we can observe most keenly that which is happening in our immediate environment and address it. If we're in Iraq, we pay attention primarily to what's going on in Iraq; if we're in Darfur, we focus on what's happening with Darfur. We see our own backyards before we see the streets and houses in the rest of the neighborhood. Does this mean we should be strict isolationists? No. It means we first have to address the most pressing problems in our immediate vicinity. We can't let our own social/political ills fester while we attempt to fight other nations' battles for them. Is this selfish? Maybe it is, to a certain degree. But it's also common sense - the whole plank-vs.-speck thing Christ mentioned, or the airline instructions that tell you to adjust your own oxygen mask before assisting others. School shootings and healthcare might seem insignificant next to wars of aggression, but those are just two of the issues causing grief to millions across North America...and there will be lots more grief if we continue to minimize them.

Which leads me to the topic on which I originally intended to post: Maher Arar's talk in Edmonton this evening, which I attended. I'll have to save that for tomorrow. I haven't had dinner yet, Sophie is hopping around demanding her salad, and Lost will be on soon.