Losing the Shock Value
Mshari Al-Zaydi

The most dangerous thing that could happen in light of the mounting crises in our region is the loss of interest in them.

Let me ask you: does the news of a car bomb tearing through a crowded Baghdad street surprise you? Does it surprise you to hear the news of thousands of families in Gaza losing their monthly income or the outbreak of street warfare between the people of one of the world’s “poorest” countries, namely, Somalia? Even news of the opposition or the majority in Lebanon taking to the streets in protest is no longer a surprise!

I will not relate the news of the fall of Somalian cities one after another at the hands of militants of the “Islamic Courts,” (Africa’s version of Afghanistan’s Taliban), as such news is unsurprising. There was also a time when the news of a fierce clash between an Al Qaeda cell and Saudi security forces was part of this “unsurprising family” of news.

Writing in Asharq Alawsat, Mshari Al-Zaydi laments that Arab populations quickly become bored with atrocities happening within their midst. They seem to go from instant anger and rage to ‘ho-hum’, with the endless repetition.

I don’t think this is exclusive to Arabs, though. Attention spans seem to be rather short these days; understanding of history even more so.