It has long been my contention that the news today is far grimmer than ever it was in the past, and to prove my point, I have often thought of getting hold of an old newspaper from, say, the 1950s and compare it with one of today's offerings. As it happens, the opportunity arose the other day with a new "app" showing 125 front pages from back issues of the International Herald Tribune.
Fortunately or unfortunately, perusal of these pages doesn't bear out my contention at all. There were just as many disasters and horrors at any time in the past as there are today. Could it be, therefore, that I am wrong? I don't think so, despite this evidence to the contrary. Firstly, one has to remember that the IHT is a world newspaper and there is a good chance of something terrible happening somewhere in the world on any given day. Secondly, the IHT has selected only the most "momentous" dates from the thousands of front pages it has published down the years.
Obviously, the matter requires far more serious thought than I am able or prepared to give it, but I can only write what I feel, and what I feel is that the sun, in the western world at any rate, has gone behind the clouds. Let's hope it comes out again soon.
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