Keeping things in perspective

When I learned, via twitter, of the car bomb that didn't go off in London last night my first thought was "oh well".

When I heard of the Glasgow car attack my first thought was "If I'd been them I'd have checked with a tape measure the night before"

When I watch the television I am being told that "Britain is under attack" and my first thought is how sad journalists are these days.

Comments

[Matthew Cashmore]

Good point there Euan... but when the government puts us on 'critical alert' and we're experiencing combined attacks across the country - how else can it be described? Colourful language perhaps - a dreadful symptom of modern journalism - but I'm not sure how else I would describe it... been thinking alot about this tonight... are we under attack? Have we always been 'under attack'? How can we move forward and live together with other nations?

I think I need to go back to my first principles of Buddhism book....

[Euan]

Like I said it is a matter of perspective.

This ain't the Blitz, or Russia with nuclear warheads, or even, dare I say it, what we did to Afghanistan and Iraq. It is something that nearly happened, dreamed up by some nutters who fell for religion and lost their grip of reality.

It is up to us not to lose ours!

With you on the Buddhist approach btw so long as you don't start shaving your head and wearing funny gear ...

[Bob H]

Yes, journo's have always wanted to add drama and we don't need the sensationalism.

[richard sambrook]

Recently I was speaking to a 5 star general in NATO. He was complaining about the lack of media support for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and contrasting it with the Second World War. I said that was a war of national survival which is different. He said "Oh believe me this is going to become a war of national survival for all of us". Which was scary, but not in the way he intended....

[Euan]

There's a double negative in there somewhere you'll need to explain to me next time we have a drink!