Words have a way of seeping into our vocabulary and, through overuse or distortion, soon begin to lose their meaning. Who could have imagined that the word “beheading” would become commonplace, as though we were discussing a sport or a new product?
“Another American was beheaded yesterday,” the newscaster explains. And then, “On a brighter note, a lost little kitten found her way home in a shocking way. We’ll tell you about that … right after this.” Who doesn’t love a kitten story? But thus juxtaposed, the beheading, so atrocious and mind-boggling at first, now becomes nearly routine-ish and banal in the way that evil can become.
Online, our eye wanders to an array of sensational stories. Suddenly, our attention is averted from the horror of what-they-did to the 10 worst celebrity plastic surgeries, or Hollywood actresses who look terrible in a bikini, or suburban kangaroo street fight!
In the blink of an eye, we flit from the unflinching courage of a young man facing a most savage death to the trivial pursuits of a mindless voyeur. The brain absorbs and files these images, where? Are they different, or do we perceive them as more or less equal — titillations not dissimilar to what we observe in any random R-rated movie or video game? Sex and violence are the horse and carriage of modern culture.