In the news every day there's
a new report about a mass killing, natural disaster, act of terrorism...you
name it. Seeing something about the increasingly sad state of the world is
inevitable. What bothers me almost as much as these ongoing macabre
occurrences are how nonchalant many Americans are when discussing global events.
For example, a few days ago I was having a conversation with a friend. We were
discussing some random stuff, nothing really important. I then brought up an
article about a bombing at a Turkish wedding. As soon as the topic of
conversation shifted, my friend lost all interest. He simply replied, "oh
yeah that sucks."
My mind was immediately filled with an array of sarcastic responses but I opted to remain quiet. While I was almost in shock at how lackadaisical my friend was, this was unfortunately not the first time I'd experienced such a disconnect from an American in regards to problems elsewhere in the world. This leads me to the question, why are so many Americans so desensitized? Not just to things going on in other countries, even to things happening in their own country?
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The Media
The first reason for this sense of desensitization is the media. In some cases, the way that the media presents information to the public causes it to be seen as so commonplace that the legitimate meaning of the content is negated. The media is definitely at fault for the way they go about reporting certain news events. For example, the headlines that news writers use have the extremely important job of attracting readers. If a media platform was to release a piece entitled "Another Black Teen Killed By Cop," the title is in a sense disrespectful to the victim because they are more than just "Another Black Teen." The media's coverage events and word choices are a huge factor in American desensitization.
Ethnocentrism
The second and more important reason for the ever increasing desensitization of Americans is the idea of ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is essentially judging another culture by the standards of your own in addition to thinking that one's own culture is superior to that of other places. Let's be real for a minute. We Americans can be pretty damn prideful, and that's totally okay. It only becomes a problem when that pride is elevated to arrogance. This often leads many Americans to think that because we're such a "great" country, the terrible things going on elsewhere in the world don't impact them. While this may be true to a point, we as humans should all be empathetic towards one another and always do what we can to aid other people. I think that Americans would be more understanding if they really tried to put themselves in the shoes of those who are experiencing these hardships first hand.
Below is a video entitled "Unwatchable: Brutally Honest Film About The Rape Crisis in Congo." As implied in the title, this video is not easy to watch so please do so at your own discretion. The video is based on a true story of a rape and murder that happened in Congo, however, it is set in America and experienced by an American family. As difficult as it is to watch, the video directly puts Americans in the shoes of those in Congo with simultaneously prompting questions about how anyone can stand by and allow this to happen.
