Have We Become Trivial and Superficial?

I am pondering this as a result of flipping through today's newspaper, of all things.

The front pages here are full of coverage of a missing porn star who allegedly murdered someone, hacked up their body, and mailed parts to the head office of the Conservative Party of Canada. The papers are full of this guy's past liaisons with the wife and partner of one of Canada's most horrific school girl killers. To make matters worse apparently he is a kitten killer.

In the US people are distraught because Mitt Romney tweeted a tweet where he misspelled America. Clearly he is un-American and unfit to be President.

If they aren't focused on politics they're likely talking about the guy in Miami who under the haze of mental illness and drugs attempted to eat the face off of a homeless guy.

The 'reading' public is agog over this stuff.

This crap is discussed on the radio, on TV, and over a beer.

I understand that it is like driving past a car accident . . . you don't want to look but some force tugs your gaze towards the mayhem.

The thing that set this off was that I had to turn to page 29 to find analysis of the horrific situation in Syria. Page 32 about the third earthquake to hit Italy. Page 33 to read more about the environment impact of Canada's oil sands.

These are legitimate tales of suffering, woe, and challenges.

This is news.

When I read about Zombie face eaters, or porn murderers I'm not learning more about anything then the depth of human superficiality these days. We have become a world of 30 second thinking Fox news machine gun blasts. The news has become entertainment and reporters strive to lower the story to a level where we'll read on and perhaps even purchase the paper.

I worry about us all, yes kids, I do . . .