THE NEWS CONTINUES

Wanting to see more of the important stories of the day, I continued watching the telly, flipping from time to time between channels.
A car was being chased by police in Los Angeles. I watched, getting a bird's eye view as the scene was broadcast from helicopter. Across roadways. over bridges, thru twisting labyrinths of side streets. At times everyone slowed and it was like watching a movie in halftime.
Why was he being chased? Did he kidnap some imprtant official? Commit a mass murder? Steal some vital secret or technology?
"I hope this turns out safely," chortled the announcer. "You never know."
A voice over of a retired cop came next. "These guys never get away," he bragged."It's only a matter of time." The cop droned on about about police methodology.
"Word just in," interrupted the announcer. The driver apparently got into an altercation with another patron in a diner. When things looked like they might bubble up into a fight the owner called the police. As the cops arrived this guy took off speeding and has been going ever since."
This was national news? I couldn't comprehend why this warranted attenjtion on a national news broadcast.
Then came the end. The car, speeding on a freeway, came to a traffic jam. The driver tried to get around the mass of cars, moving across the berm. The roadway here was elevated up on a grassy knoll. The driver miscalculated. and went too far.
As the announcer screamed "Oh my God!" in mock horror, I watched as the car rolled over and crashed down the hill. Over and over and then coming to rest at the bottom. In seconds police were swarming the car and pulling out their prey.
I think i was beginning to get it. In a society raised on cartoon violence and action heroes, this real life drama, as small as it was, constituted emtertainment.
Train Wreck T.V.

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