Can anyone say DESENSITIZATION?

I was driving back to work from lunch when I noticed a bumper sticker on the diesel truck in front of me. It was one of those 9/11 memorial stickers that said “Let’s Roll” and had the American flag behind it. My first thought was “oh, that’s so outdated”. Then I immediately thought, “what’s wrong with me? How could I think that?”. I’m pretty sure the families that lost a loved one in the attacks that day, don’t think the memorials are outdated! And, I’m pretty sure that the family of the person who actually said “let’s roll” on the ill fated plane, doesn’t think the memorial stickers are outdated! So why was that my first thought? I’ll tell you. One word. Desensitization.

You know, that thing that causes us to not bat an eyelash when we see violence in the movies, or hear explicit sex jokes as part of a routine bit on prime time television; the thing that causes young children to see weapons as being toys rather then dangerous. The very thing that caused me to see a sticker memorializing a very tragic event (to say the least) and actually think to myself “oh, that’s so outdated”.