By Ray Cardello for January 7, 2024, Season 24 / Post 10

Like everything else in the 21st Century America, the news cycle has evolved. This evolution has been happening for decades as we watched the slow death of print newspapers to digital versions. Still, even on a cellphone or tablet, the American attention span is inadequate to read news stories. Most people are satisfied with the smallest, most digested version of the news possible. Headlines are enough for most, though they will never have enough info to discuss the topics of the day. For the young, let’s stipulate under 40, X, Instagram, or TikTok is enough, as long as the reel is short. Regardless of the importance or impact of a new story, a happening is only viable for a few days, and then people move on. Something new has happened and is pinned to the top spot. That old story from two days ago has been moved to the archive. No longer does it fall below the fold or to page 6, but to the archives to live unopened forever. This dynamic is a shame, as some stories need to be played out until the epilogue.

Lahaina and East Palestine are two stories that should not have died. The people in these two communities, separated by half a globe, have been impacted in such a way that they may never know what it is to live an everyday life. What happened to these folks was not of their doing. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. East Palestine was the victim of the aging railway that traverses their simple town in the heartland of Ohio. A train carrying a combination of toxic chemicals that, to pronounce them, would sound like a Kamala Harris word salad oratory derailed and dumped its poisonous cargo into the land and water of East Palestine and rendered it unhealthy for years to come. Land was rendered useless as front lawns were turned into toxic waste dumps. Creeks, streams, and even well water made dangerous and undrinkable. These people have lost the nest egg they lived in and will need to find a new place to start over. It has been over a year since the tragedy in East Palestine, and the folks who remain are still waiting for a visit from Joe Biden. Promises left unfulfilled. These folks committed a mortal sin in Biden’s eyes by voting for Trump. They are not important to this President.

Lahaina in Hawaii is similar, but this town was leveled by fire. The blaze was not an accident but was caused by neglect by the local power company. By not performing preventive maintenance on power lines, they created a spontaneous spark and inferno that erased Lahaina from the map. Biden did visit Lahaina, but aid is slowly arriving for these folks, and estimates are that it will be 5-7 years before their homes will be rebuilt. Who can imagine putting their lives on hold for half a decade? No answer is needed.

The East Palestine and Lahaina events were front page, lead story issues for a week or so, a lifetime in the media world. The reporters and news crews soon tired of the story, and something new and shiny caught their attention. I am not calling for videos of scorched land or dead fish floating on tainted water to lead every news hour, but we must not forget these tragedies and their victims until their lives are back on track. These are our brothers and sisters, and, but for the grace of God, it could be us living in a cheap hotel room with only memories of a life we lost. We can continue living our lives, but we must continue to pray and support these folks until they enjoy the same life we wake to every morning.