A few last words for the year.
Is it just me, or has the news media become increasingly morbid in recent years? Yesterday there were barely any news articles or reports not dedicated to the execution of Saddam Hussein. Don't get me wrong, his demise is certainly news, and I'm quite sure he will spend eternity in hell with his new room mate, Augusto Pinochet. Assuming there is a hell, of course.
But do we really need to see the same few seconds of video from his execution and that picture of his corpse over and over again? I've been studying French for a while, so I decided to tune in to the new France 24 news network. What I saw was practically the execution video in a loop for the duration of the newscast. Suffice to say, I didn't pick up much French from that newscast.
Is there really such a desire among the public to see people die? Fine, Saddam was an evil, evil man, but what do I get out of watching the noose tighten around his neck 4,000 times over that I wouldn't be getting from the news anchor simply reporting that Saddam had been executed? Not only that, but was the execution truly such a news event as to be to the exclusion of other news that might have been of interest? Honestly, who didn't know the moment the trial started a few years ago that the only possible verdict would be death?
At this rate, it's only a matter of time before executions are regularly televised. And then you can enjoy the hangings in public town squares of years past in the comfort of your own home.
Happy new year!
