Attention to What Matters

My problem is I can't take a definitive side. It is hard to conceptualize unless you are a parent of a soldier or know someone . Now that I'm a parent I see everything differently. I don't think I'd want a photo of my child's last horrific moments of life published for everyone to see. I would hope that the media would respect the feelings of my family. Journalist and editors are parents too and have to make these tough decisions. But from a journalism side I think the AP made the right choice. There are some moments when a photograph can provide us with what is really happening better then words. How long has it been since we have gone to war with Iraq? A soldier that has died in combat gets what, a twenty second mention on a local news channel? They are just a bunch of numbers and repetitive stories. I'm probably not the only one that doesn't pay attention, not on purpose but it’s not in the forefront of my mind anymore. Until a photograph depicting the horror of war jolts me back to reality. We get to a point where we tend to overlook and forget and a telling photo gets us talking again. I think this is the role of the media. People forget about the tragedy of war if they are protected from its actuality.