News Alert
|
Get intelligent!
|
Main Menu
| Home |
| Radio Shows - LISTEN |
| Brad's Blog |
| Irwin's Blog |
| Brad In the Media |
| Irwin in the Media |
| Bridges TV - WATCH |
| Podcast |
| Forum |
Movies
Building Bridges: Abrahamic Perspectives on the World Today
with Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, Season II
Now Available on a 3-DVD Set
A first-ever 15-part series conceived by a rabbi for Bridges TV-American Muslim TV Network, the show brings together religious leaders of the three major Abrahamic faiths to grapple with the divisive issues splitting our traditions and country. Fast paced and tied to today's news, it gives viewers a deeper understanding of how people of faith see the world, and each other, with live interviews from the American public.
Price: $25.00 (3 DVD Set)
To order, click here.
Members Login
Podcast
Hirschfield & Kula and
IntelligentTalkRadio.com
is produced and managed by
Scott Newman Productions
| Brad Blog Dec. 6, 2007 |
|
|
| Thursday, 06 December 2007 | |
   
Forget Parades, It’s Massacres We Love
Posted by Brad Hirschfield in reaction to the recent murders of 8 people in an Omaha mall
Apparently it's true, because after a man murdered eight innocent people yesterday in an Omaha, Nebraska mall before taking his own life, we seem to care more about the grizzly details of his actions than about those whose lives he took. We get hours of TV coverage, headline articles, and all of it focuses on the weapons he used, the barricades behind which the survivors hid, and the positions in which the crumpled bodies of the dead were found. We are so interested in the murder that we forget to mourn the murdered. Or perhaps “forget” is too benign a term.
Could it be that we love the gory details? You're damn right we do! And that’s pretty disturbing, or is it? I am really torn about this one. I hate that so many of us slow down to gape at car wrecks, pour over endless stories focusing on the horrible minutiae of events like yesterday in that mall, and rarely take the time to really connect to the actual loss that real people have experienced. It’s all to reminiscent of ancient Rome and it’s gladiatorial circuses, only now we don’t even need to go to the Coliseum because it’s brought by cable and the delivery boy right into our living rooms and our front doors. On the other hand, I know that in rehashing the details of what has happened to others, we reaffirm that it didn’t happen to us, that we have escaped the seemingly random harm and hurt that are so much a part of life. We watch what happens to others, not only because it distracts us from what is actually happening to us, but because it often reminds us that whatever is happening to us, is not as bad as what has happened to those people in the news. In the way, it really is a modern Roman Circus, or revitalized ritual of religious sacrifice, if you prefer. So if this phenomenon is both repugnant and endemic to the human condition, what are we to do? We have three options: embrace it’s naturalness and keep on watching (which strikes me as less than noble), admit that we are all deeply flawed and live with that pain (which is entirely unnecessary), or find ways to remind ourselves of that which is good in our lives just a bit more often than we use the misery of others to do that. If we did that, we would be less obsessed with the details of other people’s suffering, more able to help them in their time of need, and genuinely more aware of the blessings in our own lives, which are always there if we are ready to see them. Too preachy? Perhaps, but it’s the holiday season and I am ready for more than endless analysis of how many guns were used and how often they were reloaded. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Read more Brad at Beliefnet.com
| May- June 2008 |
|
CNN Radio “The Paula Gordon Show” 6/21/08
PBS TV: The Jewish People: A Story of Survival, an original one-hour film explores these themes of resilience, fortitude and achievement of the Jewish people, moving chronologically over four millennia. Featuring Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, it is hosted by Martha Teichner, Senior Correspondent for “CBS News/Sunday Morning.”
5/7/08 WLIW NYC
6/1/08 WETA DC
6/2/08 WHYY, Philadelphia
6/4/08 KOCE, LA
6/5/08 WTTW, CHI
WORT-FM (Madison) “A Public Affair” 5/8/08
KPBS (San Diego) “These Days” 5/22/08 |
| April, 2008 |
|
WRPI-FM (Albany) “In the Spirit” 4/24/08
Open Court Tru-TV (formerly Court TV) 4/16/08
The Morning Show, Wisconsin Public Radio 4/15/08
Religion News Service 4/15/08
Brad ranks #37 in Newsweek's 50 most influential Rabbis in America 4/11/08
The Jewish News (New Orleans), 4/11/08
The Journal News (Gannet Westchester) 4/5/08
The Norman Transcript (Oklahoma) 4/4/08
|
| April - June 2008 |
|
The Detroit Jewish News Online 6/13/08
Voice of America 6/11/08
“In the Spirit” WRPI- FM (Albany) 6/5/08
The Mitch Albom Show WJR-AM, Detroit 6/2/08
KOOP-FM (Austin) Soul Talk 4/17/08
The Drive with Steve Fast on WJBC (Central Illinois) April 14
Maria Sanchez Show on KVTA (Ventura, CA) April 14
Irwin ranks #7 in Newsweek's 50 most influential Rabbis in America 4/11/08
The Jeff Farias Show, on Nova M Radio Network (Phoenix) April 10
The Pope’s visit with the Jewish community, and the sacredness of paying our taxes on the Louie B. Free Show Tuesday, April 8 at 2:05 pm EST, WASN, WRBP, and WGFT (all in the Cleveland/Pittsburgh area)
|
| Arizona Daily Star 3/7/08 |
|
Brad & Irwin in the Arizona Daily Star 3/7/08 |