Ariana Huffington makes an excellent point about all the misplaced Balloon Boy hysteria – why aren’t we worrying about the kids who are really at risk?
I find the media’s obsession with these non-stories especially galling when they lead to endless agonizing over the welfare of a child — agonizing that is sorely missing when there isn’t a hot air balloon or inner tube in shark-infested waters involved.
So now that we know that Falcon is safe, how about repurposing some of that concern for, say:
— the over 1.5 million children who are homeless.
— the 42 percent of homeless children who are under the age of 6.
— the one in six homeless children who suffers from an emotional problem.
It doesn’t have to be wall-to-wall coverage, but how about some coverage of the 75 to 100 percent increase in the number of children who are newly homeless because of the foreclosure crisis? Or the 13 million American children living in poverty?
Rachel Norton 
Why do we care so much about balloon boy and not about the big picture? Unfortunately, there is an answer. Nicholas D. Kristof wrote an article about this in July. Yes, even FOX news can’t drown his brilliant voice!
The article concludes that we are simply overwhelmed by the numbers. We don’t get a sense that we are helping when we give to so many. The suffering is great. We avert our gaze.
For what it is worth, here is the link to the
“New Message Needed for Humanitarian Aid” article:
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/byauthor/300322
– M