Or listen to it on the radio, or read it online. I have yet to see one image of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. And it's not because I don't care about what's going on in the world. In fact I think it's because I care too much. I was in the US on September 11th, and it's possible that that was the turning point. I watched the towers fall live on TV and it traumatized me for months, just as I am sure it did most of us. Simply thinking about it almost 10 years later is enough to make me tear up.
My policy is that if it's bad enough, someone will tell me what's going on. And between Twitter, Facebook and my husband who would die if he didn't listen to the news all.the.time, that's exactly what happens.
So I knew about the terrible devastation going on. I chose not to click on the links I came across, because just the poster's horror was enough for me. I didn't need the visual to back it up. Do you ever feel like sometimes we are too connected? That's the feeling I get when there is a disaster these days, like there are too many ways we can learn about horror, too soon after it happens.
Don't get me wrong, I see the upside of all this. That instantaneous connection no doubt plays a huge part in information getting to where it needs to be, and people getting the help they need when they need it. And this is where I start to appreciate the connectedness. When I start seeing the links about donating and sending help. Those? I click the heck out of.
