I read recently that 20 children die every hour in Afghanistan from easily preventable health problems. I’m sure many other countries are similar and even much worse, but I specifically mention Afghanistan because the US has a major and specific commitment to that country.
There is nothing wrong with mourning the dead. There is nothing wrong with mobilizing political action (e.g. gun control) in reaction to tragedy. But why are the deaths of 20 children in Connecticut an imputus for such action, while the deaths of 20 children in Afghanistan not? Is it because of how far away they are? I think Hawaii isn’t that much farther from Afghanistan than it is from Connecticut, yet I suspect Hawaiians are deeply fixated on the events at Newtown, but not so much by the events in Afghanistan. Is it a matter of shared nationality? Why does shared nationality, in a nation as culturally diffuse as the US, really mean that much? Is it a matter of shared government responsibility? In what way is our government NOT responsible for political and legal conditions in Afghanistan, in this day and age?
I’m making no claim of moral superiority. I suffer the human weaknesses of selfishness and narrowness of vision as much as any person. But I find something distasteful and even morally repugnant in the elevation of these deaths – that is currently obsessing our media – over so many other deaths that occur without any trace in the media, and where a great deal more could be done to prevent them through political action.
Somewhat relatedly, vis-a-vis the Newtown mediacalypse, but in a very different direction, I also would like to recommend this bit of painful satire: The time has come to arm our 6 year olds.
