American pop culture's tunnel vision diminishes our awareness

America's love affair with the rich, the famous and the violent is a fad that has reached a height never before seen.

Ninety-five million Americans tuned in to the police manhunt of O.J. Simpson and many are now fixated with the on-going trial s.

The books alone, not counting the not-insignificant number of magazine specials since this all started, has risen to three, with more on the way.

Tabloid journalism, both on television and on the newsstand, has glutted themselves with this k ind of idle news.

It's important to remember that there are nations outside of our boarders that are experiencing near-apocalyptic events like Rwanda, Bosnia and Cuba. All these affect us more than we'd care to admit.

We urge you to give up you r addiction to Hard Copy, Current Affair and the like. Instead, spend that time perusing the newspapers. Albeit drier and lacking the colorful headlines like "Headless Alien Gives Birth to 27-pound Cucumber in Elvis Wedlock Dispute," they will inform and edify.

One of the items in a majority of stand-up comedian's routines these days is our generation's tunnel vision regarding the world. If we're ever going to make a difference, we first must know what needs to be changed.

The history of t omorrow is being forged today. Should any of us have children, will we be able to explain to them the reasons behind the fall of the Berlin Wall? How about Hitler's concentration camps?

It's a scary thought but all it looks like we'll remember is t hat Zsa Zsa Gabor slapped a cop and we all had a good laugh about it.

What do you think? If you agree or if you don't, please write to us. You'll get to see your words in print and you might even start the ball rolling.