Have Americans become insulated from real violence and real blood by the sanitized and distant television news? The 24-hour news cycle brings all the happenings of the world into our living rooms, or now that we have so many mobile devices, into our cars, offices or anyplace we happen to be.
In fact, one could say its hard to get away from the problems around the world. Except.
The except is that the dramas portrayed on television shows, movies, and even video games, brings it to us with little real feeling or passion. The major news is often little different.
There have been numerous instances of violence - overthrow of governments, kidnappings, murders, and just about every instance of vicious cruelty anyone could image. Not all of it has been on the TV news programs.
The events, the actions, the blood and gore, have been sanitized - both the writing and the photographers. Whether it has been cleaned up or made "politically correct," it really doesn't make much difference. The viewers still aren't getting the real story.
The real news often is not and has never been for the fainthearted. People have causes and agendas - whether individuals, groups, gangs, mobs or politicians. Now and then those causes arouse passions and drive them to do "unpleasant" things.
Recent changes or overthrow of governments, and the violence committed by those on all sides of the "disagreements," is not over and may not be over for some time. Usually, overthrow of a government merely exchanges one set of tyrants for another, often worse than the original tyrants.
But in America, the news seems to be just another reality show. It is cleaned up, sanitized and made to fit the time allotted for the entertainment of a television audience. That way it fits in with the reality shows, the regular dramas, the movies, and video games. Then it is repeated endlessly for the next 24 hours.
In a word, Americans are "insulated" from the real violence and bloodletting. It becomes entertainment. If there is something a viewer doesn't want to see, all it takes is a punch of a button on the ubiquitous remote to do away with rioting, maiming and slaughtering. It is so easy to silence the bombs and guns, get rid of the sight of swords, machetes, knives, spears and rocks, eliminating any thought of the viciousness visited on people just trying to go about their daily lives.
As mere observers who can tune out with the push of a button, Americans may not be in a position to understand the real impact and effects of events in the world, the country, the state, the city or maybe even the neighborhood they live in.