Last week, over lunch, my friend and I were discussing a variety of topics, one of which was the news. As stated earlier, I don't watch TV - in particular, the news is too negative, depressing, and often anti-American. I figure my mental and physical health is better not being fed the constant stream of aberrations that comprises news today.

When I mentioned how negative so much news was, my friend was surprised. "I don't think it's negative," she commented. When I asked her what positive or good or decent "news" she could recall (weather doesn't count), she had none. Though she was not convinced of my conclusion, she finally admitted, "Maybe since I watch it all the time, I don't see the negativity."

That is food for thought. Does watching the news and its constant coverage of events that tear apart a society, events that show people at their worst, events that must "bleed to lead" eventually numb our minds to the point where we don't see how negative it is?

What happens to a civilization's social structure when only the anomalies, deviations and distortions are implied as the total truth in the common visual media?