It seems as though, at least monthly, the public is served a new wedge issue over which to waste time and energy. September’s flavor of the month, for instance, had something to do with kneeling, football, the national anthem and, vaguely, police brutality. Such flavors of the month become, in effect, products meant to appeal to a dark area of our brain. It is that area of the brain that compels us to click certain web links and linger over chatter on television — multiplying the hits, boosting the ratings, increasing the profits. From a certain point of view, these dark areas of our brains are simply parcels of real estate to be exploited.
If we were in earnest, yes, we might examine police brutality trends. We might also put police violence against civilians in context, taking into balance factors such as civilian violence against police and civilian violence against other civilians. And then we might try to identify remedies, where needed.
But the flavor of the month is never about remedies. It’s about our addiction, as a society, to the noise of conflict.
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