Articles of the Month

Frenzy

September 11, 2001. The images of the doomed flight - screaming into the World Trade Center will forever be burned into our memories. The appalling terrorist attacks rocked the American nation to its core, sending a violent wake-up call to the entire world. This event naturally set the media afire with accusations and speculation, as they desperately sought an inhumane enemy to blame. They finally settled on terrorism.

Soon, every channel and every page contained some coverage of the attacks. Osama Bin Laden became America's latest obsession - the personification of everything anti-American. "The War on Terrorism" fast became the hottest catch-phrase. The media frenzy escalated to the point of insanity, saturating every possible medium so full of "9-11" it became unbearable.

It's not to say that just because I am Canadian, living what would seem a world away from the attacks, that I have been completely indifferent and unaffected. I too watched the events unfold, held captive in the grip of the tragedies. However, this has not been the biggest atrocity to ever face humanity ? where was the extensive media attention in Rwanda when millions died unnoticed? What about the continuing AIDS epidemic that claims thousands of lives each year? Dragging this event on for months achieves nothing, and rehashing the same facts serves only to bring up painful memories. I am not one to turn a cold shoulder to the United States in their time of crisis, but it's been over a year now.

We all mourn in silence.