Synthetic Reality

Did you see the videos of Air Force One doing the low pass over Manhattan for the photo shoot? Did you see the reaction of the crowds? They were running for their lives, which makes it especially puzzling to understand why Americans seem to have forgotten the lessons of 9/11.

When the planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center on 9/11 it was apparent to almost everyone that there were people in this world who hated America and what it stood for and were prepared to go to any lengths to make their point. The mark on the collective psyche of this country seemed indelible - a day that would forever live in infamy. Sadly, though, this has not proved to be the case and this enormous tragedy has slowly leaked out of our national consciousness. Why this has happened is less clear and I have struggled to understand how this could be. A book by the former editor of Punch, the satirical British humor magazine, has provided an explanation.

Malcolm Muggeridge was well known as a writer with a sharp and biting wit. He was also a well known atheist who did not suffer fools, especially Christians, gladly. Late in life, though, he came to Christ and wrote a number of insightful books and articles. Christ and the Media is one of those books and he observes that the reality portrayed by the media, television in particular, is not really reality at all but a synthetic version thereof. He was an on-air BBC personality and commented that he was always surprised by the contrast between what he was seeing in front of his eyes and the version that was broadcast. Even in supposed "news" shows, reality was altered and made to fit a story line, rather than being simply reported. It is this disjunction that I refer to as "synthetic reality."

There is a synthetic reality in foreign affairs that blames the U.S. for "torture" of self-confessed terrorists who have killed and whose only desire is to kill again. It soothes with the thought that if we only talk nicely to such people and governments that support them, all will be well. Then, based on this "reality" advocates cuts in the defense budget because the world will be a more peaceful place. The media is a hot bed of such views and would rather focus on Golden Globes and which star is sleeping with whom anyway. Meanwhile, Congress, having bought into the alternate reality that defense is passe' and completely unneeded is spending trillions on pork, merrily mortgaging future generations, and generally behaving like drunken sailors on a week-long bender. Who us worry?

At some level, though, and not very far below the surface, people understand that the jihadists really want to kill us. It doesn't matter if you are white, black, green or purple - if you are an American, you are an infidel and you die. Reading the writings of the terrorists makes it very clear that this is so. They are serious (if sociopathic) people and they are relentless. We are not a serious people right now and what we don't - or won't - know can kill us. Just ask the folks in Manhattan when they see a low flying plane. I hope the rest of us don't need to see a mushroom cloud rising over an American city before we reach the same conclusion.