“Complete devastation”

The screen capture is from CNN.com this morning

The News Alert says: A suicide truck driver attacked a crowded market in central Baghdad Saturday, killing at least 38 people and wounding dozens more, police said.

The caption under the photo says: Governor: Storm damage looks “like a bomb went off”.

The BIG story is the storm that ripped through central Florida. It was approximately 40 miles long and left at least 20 dead. A Federal disaster declaration has been requested and FEMA is getting involved. "We have complete devastation of homes, businesses, religious institutions. It was unlike perhaps even the hurricanes of 2004," said Christopher Patton of the Lake County Emergency Operations Center.

I am not going to trivialize the death and destruction that occurred in Florida, but rather compare it to the news alert. Why is it that when death and destruction is closer to home, it seems to have a larger impact on Americans? Where are the images of Iraq that looks “like a bomb went off”? Something tells me that this is almost a daily occurrence in Iraq.

Because what is happening in Iraq is so far from home, and so devastating on a daily basis, it’s like it isn’t real, or trivialized to just news alerts. How many times have you heard “X number of American soldiers were killed in Iraq today by a roadside bomb” while buttering your toast, and went about your business? Of course, there is nothing you can do about it, but because it is an every day occurrence, and because there are no devastating images, the impact is trivialized.

I want to see the reality of what is occurring in Iraq. Not just the devastation, but the positive things as well. I want to grieve and feel sorrow for the lost souls in Iraq, just as much as I want to grieve and feel sorrow for the same in Florida. I want to feel joy and exuberance for the touching positive stories in Iraq, just as I want to feel the same for all the good things happening in America today.

Americans are in Florida and Americans are in Iraq.
There is “complete devastation” in both places.

Update 12:26PM: After I posted this, CNN.com is now showing a different top story showing the carnage at the Baghdad market. I had no idea CNN.com reads my posts, and so quickly at that!

Update 11:06PM : Now they are back to the Florida story.... give me a break!