We travelers know that the media can make faraway places seem chaotic or unsafe. One of our lead tour guides, Sarah Murdoch, shares her take on things from a smart, solo-woman traveler’s perspective in a wonderfully insightful blog titled “Adventures with Sarah.” In her latest post, she analyzes media-shaped images with her on-the-ground experiences in Rome (Jubilee Year mob scenes), Athens (refugee concerns), Paris (security issues), and London (after the Brexit vote). Sarah’s take is candid, fascinating, and answers questions that many of us logically have…and that’s why I’m sharing it here. Enjoy!
Photo: Sarah Murdoch
Comments
Sarah’s take is right on the money! What’s really funny is that as a resident I find much more about Rome chaotic and disagreeable than any traveler ever would.
Ms. Murdoch , while posting a passionate blog, is as “logical” as climate-change
deniers who reject scientific data, blame the liberal news media’s hype and declare,
since they don’t “feel” any warmer, climate change isn’t really happening.
Not all news media are conveyed through television, which apparently is Ms.
Murdoch’s prime source. Some very credible print and online news organizations are
providing thoughtful, ongoing reports on terrorism and refugees. But unlike Ms.
Murdoch, their focus, as events unfold, is not how they “feel”. “Who, what, when,
where, why” are still prime goals (even if conveyed stylistically.)
The banality of her observations is evident in her choice of words:
“… It feels much safer … the media would have you believe…I never felt threatened
or unsafe …not what the TV shows us… I felt absolutely no concern or fear… the media
trying to make me afraid of my world … The way I see it, I feel much safer … Media myth debunked, again … the U.S. news is making it look pretty scary …I feel perfectly safe here … things on the news don’t show the whole reality …”
Unlike Descartes, with Ms. Murdoch “I feel, therefore I am” is a better fit than “I think, therefore I am.” Unfortunately. how you “feel” about a situation won’t change the
reality of a troubling world.