The WSJ suggests that the survival instinct is dulled by the good life:
Powered by high-tech exports, the Israeli economy grew 6.3% in the first quarter this year, with a 28% jump in personal consumption of durable goods, such as cars and refrigerators. Sales of Porsches doubled in 2006 from 2004, and last year Lexus opened shop in the Jewish state.
Yet prosperity has not brought security. As Israelis begin another summer fraught with regional instability, some are pondering a troubling question: Is the idea of an advanced consumer society, with its attendant individualism, compatible with the solidarity and focus required to defend a small state bordered by hostile neighbors? And could the growing gap between poor and wealthy Israelis undermine its national drive to protect itself?
In a word: no.
How pathetic is it that someone actually has to trumpet CNN’s so-called “news” (as opposed to entertainment) coverage?
Giving CNN Credit For Hard News
An observer writes to TVNewser:
“Around 12:30, MSNBC is talking about a raunchy golf outing in the Poconos, while CNN is simulcating International coverage of the breaking news that Tony Blair will become the new Mideast Envoy.
So folks may bust on CNN for airing the Paris Hilton interview (which any network would take if Zucker hadn’t offered cash), but it seems they do serious news too …
Listen up: hard news is not just about the content of the stories—it’s mostly about the way stories are presented. If the MSM is appealing to your emotions rather than your intellect, you’re being aroused: i.e., entertained. And that’s true even if the topic is Iraq or Gaza or Hurricane Katrina. It is certainly true when the topic is politics.
I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll be harping on it in the future: the “news” as presented on television is not really serious business (although it takes serious work to produce it, and there are serious people producing it). It’s just another genre in the media’s storytelling repertoire.
So try not to get too excited by CNN’s total devotion to matters of great importance. Tonight, I note, it’s all Paris Hilton all the time.
Some gas stations in Tehran are burning, that’s for sure.
Andrew Sulllivan notes:
For some reason, this isn’t front-page news. It should be.
Indeed.
