To the editor:

As a person who chooses not to have a television in his home, I am very aware that people are selective of what they allow themselves to view and think about.

As the magnitude of the Indian Ocean tsunami has unfolded, our personal and national gaze has become fixated by the human tragedy caused by this rare natural event; and our personal and national compassion is justifiably pouring out to the victims in the area. Our governmental and nongovernmental aid agencies are directing enormous sums of money and resources into developing both short- and long-term plans to respond to their plight.

Do we selectively allow ourselves to view and think about this event with its pain and suffering because clearly none of us caused it and none of us could have prevented it? Why do we personally and nationally avert our gaze from the almost equal numbers of victims of the collateral damage of war in Iraq?

Rex Powell,

Lawrence