Soldier in Pink Boxers
I opened the front door this morning and reached down to pick up the newspaper. I carried it inside, eagerly anticipating the flood of news and current events awaiting me. No such luck.
The front page beamed headlines such as “School snake slithers away”, “Grillers beware”, “Beetle alert: Asian pests eating trees”, “Health care reform yes, soda no”, and “To spend less on health care, take charge and call the nurse”. Not even the slight mention of any of the major events affecting the global community over the past several days.
I turned the page and hoped that I would find more substantial news stories in the Nation and World pages. Again, no such luck. The articles that greeted my eyes in this section included “Soldier in pink boxers praised”, “Dad poisoned kids soup”, “Mother charged in killing, burying son in playground”, and “Head-butt charge dropped” scattered amid advertisements for Memorial Day sales at local businesses.
I was thoroughly perplexed. Were these the most important events shaping our community over the last several days? Curious, I explored several other news mediums.
“US Relies More on Allies in Questioning Terror Suspects” discussed the new methods of interrogation and detainment of suspected terrorists.
“Where Life’s Start is a Deadly Risk” examined Africa’s issues with pregnancy and childbirth.
The end of the war in Sri Lanka. The capture of a Taliban-controlled town in Pakistan. The death of a Libyan defender of human rights and free speech. The budget crisis in California. Some of the top news stories of the day were missing from this newspaper.
The local newspaper’s mission is as follows: connecting you with your community. The newspaper is broken down into multiple sections. Section A houses the front page, the Nation and World pages, and several others. Section B features state and local news and business news. Section C details recent sports events.
Again, I became confused. If there is an entire section devoted to state and local news, where was the national and global news? It certainly wasn’t in the Nation and World pages. Surely the story about a soldier wearing pink boxer shorts can’t be that important.
Is the newspaper’s neglect to share and discuss important global events okay? Is it enough to only know about what is happening in a 100 mile radius from where you live?
This Little Life 