Monday, December 27, 2004

Perspective

Alrighty...so according to the news two major events happened yesterday...and if I rank them by the amount of press coverage I've witnessed regarding each of them, here's their order of importance.
1) Reggie White died
2) 9.0 magnitude earthquake & resultant tsunami kills upwards of 23,700 people

Why, might you ask, do I post on such a matter? Well, as the title indicates...perspective. The death of one great individual vs. the death of countless thousands "third-world" residents. Out of deference to the sheer volume of lives lost, I'd hope that the media would realize that the earthquake and tsunami represent a more important story, but not around here. Maybe its simply the fact I'm deep in the heart of Packer country, and Reggie White was the turning point to the futures of the franchise when he arrived in 1993. Also, I will not dispute that he was a great man and leader on and off the field of play...blah blah blah...but come on...must we lead every newscast with the death of one, when what is described as "the worst natural disaster in recent history" by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland strikes killing over 21,000 (and the count keeps rising)?

UPDATE: Death toll keeps rising and earthquake magnitude raised to 9.0 from the earlier 8.9