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    World & Culture

    Debating the cultural evolution of war

    By Christopher Palmer
    Christopher Palmer
    Published: Jan. 20, 2010

    Stephen Sonnenberg and Thomas Palaima discuss war trauma and how our views on war have changed throughout history.

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    • Quote 2
      Kristina said on Jan. 23, 2010 at 9:27 p.m.
      While I think it is important to try to appreciate, or at least acknowledge, the realities of war, I can't help but wonder whether an increase in the portrayal of violence in the public arena (by means of news media) would be so beneficial. Would it really increase our empathy for the veterans or would it simply further desensitize us to violence? Some of the mass grave images that are coming out of Haiti right now, for instance, are heart-breaking, but they are also fascinating and almost hypnotizing. It would be all too easy for the media to capitalize on this macabre rubber-necking by filling the evening news with graphic bloodshed under the guise of increasing our awareness of war.

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