Consuming War

As I made the commute home from work this evening, listening to All Things Considered on NPR, a thought occurred to me.  Every time I turn on the news, regardless of medium, I hear at least one reference to war.  Sometimes this is a part of a human interest story, part of an economics story or part of a politics story.  But, just as often, it is the entire story.  In other words, the story--or the news--wouldn't exist were it not for war existing.  Perhaps I have a faulty memory, but I tend to believe it hasn't always been this way. 

It did make me wonder, though, what the news could possibly be like without any wars on which to report.  And, this day in age, would this be better or worse for the news industry?  Already, it seems that at every turn, the news is reporting on random acts of violence, transportation accidents and other deflating happenings.  War is definitely not a happier story, but without the subject, would our news grow even more dim and superficial?  I am probably a news snob, as I prefer outlets like NPR and PBS Newshour to any other network reporting, and I enjoy sitting down, old-school style, with the New York Times on Sunday mornings.  But, even the outlets that are known for more in-depth reporting or those that focus on the arts or intelligentsia, as a whole, are riddled with stories from or about the various war fronts.  So, now that we've arrived in this historical moment when war is such a large part of our every day culture, is it possible to go back to a time of peace?  While 5-10 years ago, this may have been a somewhat absurd question to ask, it seems valid.

Business, economics, the media, society--these are all immersed in the war culture.  Just as the economic crash of 2008 has forever changed the way global economics works, it is very possible that the chronic states of war have done the same.  There really isn't a foreseeable end to the general state of unrest.  And it could be possible that the changing politics, encouraging a more constant state of unrest, is a result of the newer generations of men and women who have grown used to the thought.

So, will war ever be over?  Or are we destined to now become full-time war consumers?  Day-by-day, soaking in more and more of the war culture through our media outlets and, one day, no longer noticing that so much of our news surrounds an unfortunate and completely avoidable state of unrest. While this seems totally plausible, I will continue to hope not.