death in the news

A death in the family can be an explicit reminder of what it means to lose someone, but many deaths take place that aren't so directly related to you. We see it in different forms, but the media's portrayal of death perplexes me. Anytime you pick up a newspaper, you're bound to see headlines like these - "40 insurgents killed in Afghanistan", "3 killed by suicide bomber", "Hundreds die in landslide". One sees death in many forms - a friend, on the news, in the hospital - but the effect each elicits is different. Should it be this way? Should we be that jaded and sensitized to it that we can calmly read it in the paper? Do we consider what these lives mean? Is it necessary to consider this and and to do so regularly for our own sake? I don't know the answers, but it does make you think.

For killing insurgents and other "bad guys", I think of how each of them must have their own life story. They might have been at the "insurgent house" at the wrong time. They might have been going to a meeting just to check out what this talk was about. They might not be "insurgents" at all, but because someone thought they were up to no good, their lives ended and it probably affected a lot of other people around them. I am not against dealing with those who have done wrong and/or have engaged in terrorist activities, but the brute manner in which it is done, and then translated into a headline is dehumanizing.

With a suicide bomber, it drives me crazy to think of the innocents involved. Not that all "insurgents" are necessarily guilty, but this operation usually involves kids, elders, man, woman - it kills indiscriminately. As readers of these stories, we are left with the event and no connection to the effect of these besides the political ramifications. Death may be treated as a necessary consequence.

Natural disasters are another form. These usually have high numbers, making the event even more "newsworthy". It helps our minds conceptualize these numbers by equating them to the size of our schools or towns, but once again, we are so far from the event, it is tough for us to conceive of what's happening on the ground. Out of all news stories, however, I think these events usually do the best job of attempting to connect us to the humanity involved since there is usually no ulterior motive to discuss. I think we all feel more connected to the deceased during these tragedies since we know that a natural disaster is something we may all face.

My last point is statistics. Statistics are frequently used as a tactic to impress/scare and raise money or awareness. For example,"every 3.6 seconds another person dies of starvation and the large majority are children under the age of 5." The shock value is immense and a sort of guilt settles inside of me. These are the hardest to fathom for me because you can't necessarily attach a face to these, or even a location, but it's happening as you type, somewhere in the world. Your mind searches for who these people are and how varied their stories may be.

I read the news often, so I'm hoping that seeing headlines involving "death" and "kills" will not push me to the point of being jaded as to not realize what death entails. Death is one the cruelest aspects of this world, but it undoubtedly connects all of us. It can serve as a great reminder to what this life means, and instead of waiting for it to affect you more directly, we can use the media's portrayal as daily reminder. Just as important, I will try to make sure not to lose the human in the headline. Every being has a story, some family, or an environment that they are affecting. May every dead soul rest in peace.

interesting link related to death and life around the world - http://www.breathingearth.net/

Spicy foods have more use than just heartburn...

Research and food grind my gears. Combining the two is just magic and that's what follows. Listening to npr and NY times podcast this morning was extra insightful since it covered something that I have been eating for about all my life. Spicy food research is revealing a lot of benefits these days and here are some promising features of the food.

1. It increases metabolic rate therefore burning calories. (link)
2. It can suppress appetite, therefore you eat less! (see above)
3. It can kill cancer! (link)

my recommendation: add Sriracha to everything

Dear prospective global health warrior,

Before you head out with your copy of “Mountains Beyond Mountains” tucked beneath your arm, a Nalgene water bottle, and a Timbuktu messenger bag, I advise you to take a deep breath and think about why you are traveling half way around the world. You might think, “I’m going to help the less fortunate, of course. They don’t have the resources we do, they have poor health care, and I’m willing to be of any help.” Sounds ideal right? Let’s take a closer look.

With the amount of financial aid and celebrity attention pouring towards global health, we get caught up in the romantic ideal of going to help the less fortunate. However, semantics and personal experiences may tell a different story. To help means to assist someone who is of lesser strength than you are. When helping, you are the one in control, the one who is “above” the other because of your situation in life. More importantly, you are conscious of the aid you’re providing, of its value. When it’s time to go home from your summer, you can immediately distance yourself and resume drinking Starbuck’s lattes because “you did your part”. I am not saying that helping doesn’t aid the less fortunate – it most certainly does. But unfortunately, the impact of “helping out” may last about as long as your flight back home because of the manner in which you treat this experience mentally.

To serve means to think of every other human soul on this earth as an equal and that we are all connected. It is to engulf the thinking that borders and colors are a concept for the weak of mind to contemplate upon. It means that you are indebted to serve the other simply because he or she is suffering. In the process of serving, no debt is incurred by your fellow citizen who just happened to be born in an unfortunate situation. Serving pulls at your soul, and your ego will achieve no gain from this. Instead of feeling as if you’ve put together a difficult contraption, it will feel more like you simply picked something up and placed it back on the shelf where it belongs. Instead of seeing their pain, you feel their pain. When you serve, you can return home to the states where we are fortunate, but you still have trouble sleeping some nights, thinking of what your brothers and sisters in other parts of the world may be going through that night. Helping may take brains and brawn, but serving takes your mind, body, and soul and provides it to those who may need it. Similar but not equal.

Fellow colleagues, the next time we think of giving our time to someone, whether it be abroad or down the street, let’s try serving and see what change this may bring. Not only will we benefit those needing assistance but the effect on our own psyche and the manner in which we serve will also be enhanced.

*credit to Dr. Rachel Remen and those pictured below for inspiration in writing this

hello world wide web,

i never thought i'd be writing a blog, but then again it's kinda stupid to say things like "never be writing a blog" when you think about it. i guess i want a release like the rest of us, and hopefully someone will gain something from my blog. i care too much about certain things in this world to keep silent and instead of putting this information on deaf ears, this might work a little better. please comment, critique, email me, etc, because anytime you have a dialogue, it could lead to better ideas or just solidify what you really believe. i'm not sure where this blog will go topic wise, but whatevers, i'm just gonna go with my scatterbrained passion and/or cynicism and see where it leads me.