Breaking News : Peace Alert!

Breaking news : we have peace! In the age of global violence, unrest, injustice, pain and suffering, news articles and media reports are filled with only and only bad breaking news, heart breaking news and gut wrenching news.

You wake up each morning reading the same news from around the world. 20 dead, 30 injured, terror attack, victim gang raped, child molested, political unrest, burned down houses, charred remains, and as if this was not enough, there is a good measure of catastrophe striking , floods, drought, warming, freezing, and then there is some more, Ebola, Swine flu, HIV, cancer, and then there is even more, freak accidents, corruption, deceit ,fraud, tit for tat, stone pelting, lynching, honor killing, cow slaughter, fight for food, for water, for hygiene.

I am sure the list is still not exhaustive enough, but I guess you get the drift. There is no positive news, there is no peace news. There is no good stuff being reported – so what do we look forward to? The question is , with so much bad happening, where is the scope to report good news? In fact we have become so used to the red bold fonts screaming breaking news, that if one day, its not there, people might feel withdrawal symptoms.

So how is the country functioning? Politicos doing their stuff, back and forth, soldiers fighting and dying, rich people continue to live in their sauna bubbles, and the poor people continue defecate openly, the middle class continues to cram education into their systems, in hope of elevating to a higher strata of the society, the students continue to do what have to ,versus what they really love to. The middle class office goer, continues to fight for his daily struggles, bills, long queues , corruption, company politics, harassment, property disputes, legal wrangles, traffic fines. The spiritually inclined continue their path of belief, the extreme religious minded, continue their path of extreme belief leading to extreme action, the atheists continue to mock the world, the scientists continue to look beyond the earth.So you see, everyone seems to be doing their job. What else can they do? That’s what they know, that is their reality, that is their compulsion. And so when all of these diversities come under one roof, there is ensuing chaos.

If there was no chaos, no problems, no fights, would the television channels get the same ratings ? I mean picture this :

Breaking news : Students choose what they really love to study and learn.
Breaking news : Kashmir reports highest tourist footfall in Dal lake.
Breaking news : 5 men escort an inebriated woman in Delhi to her parents home safely.
Breaking news : soldiers across the Pakistan border congratulate their counterpart for a great Cricket match won by India.
Breaking news : Indian soldiers return the compliment when Pakistan won the match , giving them sweets.
Breaking news : People eat their choice of food, in all parts of the country without discrimination.

There is a risk and a very probable one at that, that this might never happen. There is “Ünpeace” – every one seems to be working in their own piece. No one is thinking about collective peace. No one is thinking about putting the jigsaw puzzle together, No one is thinking about uniting these pieces together to form a big picture. They continue to push the boundaries, the envelope, the patience, the tolerance. And so you have the perfect recipe for breaking news every day, each piece blowing up into an news alert.

I could go on. But the point is : will peace become a breaking news item in our lifetimes? Will reporting good things and positivity be counted as naivety ? Will showing positive developments lower TRP ratings? Or not get sponsors? Is this the life we leave for our children? Is this there future, or is it that this generation couldn’t care less.?

There is a a day for everything, fathers day, mothers day, yoga day, friendship day, valentines day, but could we begin with celebrating a worldwide ceasefire day? No violence just for one day! Could we see news paper headlines reporting good things around the country for 1 day? This does not mean we become like an ostrich trying to hide beneath a rock, PETA no offence meant, its just an expression, could we give 1 day from all walks of society where we wish each other well? Or is it too much to ask?

Give peace a chance,it works.

What is your list of good breaking news ?