This is not the blog post I intended to write.

I had started to write something totally different. I had my facts together, a list of sources, well reasoned arguments to try get people to pay attention. To turn off the idiot box for a minute and think about more than their own little world. Then I stopped and said to myself. "Whats the point"

We have become self obsessed

Everyday I see and hear the same things over and over again. People obsessing about sports teams and pop stars and which movie icon is having an affair with who. On the media tragedies are either sensationalized or minimized, so long as it makes good tv or suits someones agenda.

We live a a world that teaches us to be selfish. To only think about ourselves, to look out for number one. Twerking and selfies abound, while reason, logic, compassion and empathy seem to be in ever shorter supply.

The silence is deafening

What I find most upsetting though is the silence from people I know. People who I know are good, intelligent reasonable people and yet seem to be turned off from what is happening outside their bubble.

I know that if I wanted to get a reaction I could write a "Im breaking up with ColdFusion" post and the indignant arguments would be all over twitter and blog's and podcasts in minutes.

Write or tweet about women and children being blown up half way around the world though, and silence. Why?

• Because its happening over there to someone else?
• Because we don't like the country they were born in?
• Because its too hard to understand why its all happening?

Children are dying

As it was said to me recently, there are three sides to every story (this side, that side and the truth). Well I'm not taking sides, I am only interested in the facts.

And the fact is that 408 children were killed in the last month and another 2,502 children injured.

Yes there are bad guys over there as well. Nobody can or should dispute that, but are we any bettter that we can stay silent when children are dying because we don't like their religion or country. Nothing and I mean nothing can every justify the killing of children.

What hope for humanity

What hope is there for humanity if we can shut off our compassion for people simply by saying to ourselves that they are not like us. That they deserved what happened to them because they were born there and not here.

When will we learn that each life precious no matter the age, race, gender, color or religion.

"Today I saw a picture of a weeping Palestinian man holding a plastic bag of meat. It was his son" Brian Eno on #Gaza http://t.co/qSdRv0WMTW

— Abby Martin (@AbbyMartin) August 7, 2014