Catholic to the Core
I did not watch it, I will not watch it, and I’m suggesting that you not watch the video of Jordanian pilot, Muadh al-Kasasbeh, being set on fire and burned to death in a cage by the Islamic State.
Fox News has chosen to embed the video on its website – the entire gruesome 22 minutes of it. Dear Lord. I mean that literally, as in Dear Lord, we need your help.
So far, Fox News has refused comment to media, and so I won’t try to guess at their motive. But I really don’t think it matters why. They have made, I believe, a terrible mistake regardless of the reason for their decision.
Here’s why I think watching the video is a bad idea. You can take or leave what I have to say, but I hope you’ll at least give it consideration.
The more views the video receives, the more Fox News will be affirmed in their decision. Ratings count, sometimes more than anything including sensitivity and propriety. Not only will it encourage them to keep this one up, but it will convince them to put others like it up in the future.
Infatuation with the video is precisely what the Islamic State wants. Terrorists cause terror. They want the world to see the evil things that they’re doing in order to instill fear in us so that we don’t fight back.
Muadh-al-Kasabeh deserves his dignity. I realize that some may think showing the video is a way to pay tribute to al-Kasabeh and all who are being martyred at the hands of ISIS. But there are other ways to pay tribute aside from watching videos of their deaths. I’ll dare to say that most people who watch are not doing so in the spirit of tribute, but more in fascination.
The family deserves respect. Please take a minute to put yourself in the place of al-Kasabeh’s mom, dad, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles… If you were a member of his family, would you want his hideous death played over and over and over?
It isn’t good for us. What we take in through our senses, particularly visually, becomes imprinted in our brain. It remains there either consciously or subconsciously whether we like it or not (see my point about ISIS wanting to instill fear in us).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives warning about taking in unwholesome content.
The means of social communication (especially the mass media) can give rise to a certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of what is said or shown. Users should practice moderation and discipline in their approach to the mass media. They will want to form enlightened and correct consciences the more easily to resist unwholesome influences. (CCC, 2496)
We certainly can’t live with our heads in the sand – evil must be fought – but we also can’t allow ourselves to be sucked into watching videos about it.
Granted, the choice is yours whether or not to watch the video of Muadh al-Kasasbeh’s death. You have free will to do or not do that. Regardless of what you decide, let me make a request. Pray. Please pray for all involved, and pray for an end to such evil. Of all the tactics and weapons in the world, prayer is the most powerful one we have.
Image: yeowatzup, Wikimedia Commons
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