No time to look away Like most Americans and almost all residents of New York, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh area, I have thought again and again of the unbelievable events that occurred the morning of September 11. So overwhelming of a tragedy it was, I still find it almost impossible to discuss. Yet recently when reading an interview with Robert Redford, the activist, conservationist and actor, he described the news coverage of the day as " 'a great gift', ...for as horrifying as those pictures were, America needed to have them put in our face, repeatedly, to force the reality that this was really happening. We have a tendency as a country to look away." I agree. I think most people by virtue of human nature prefer not to look at bad things and ugly problems. And I think this goes for all groups of people. Such is why our media, which brings us vital information, needs to be representative of all of us. We are far more inclined to listen to those to whom we can relate and with whom we can identify. Realize it or not, we feel more comfortable learning about our world from those we feel understand us best: men often relate best to men , women to women, and members of a social group to other members of that group as well. The information may be the same, but the source may be one we relate to better and therefore will listen to more. This is why we must continue to strive to build a diversified media that includes more women and minorities. Never in our country's history have we had such a diverse population of ethnic groups. And never have we had such a need for more information. Of what "good"- and I use that word pragmatically- can be found in the days following September 11, while the events of the day seemed to be tearing our country apart, our media worked to bring us together as a nation It made us stop and think: it reined in the natural impulse many felt to lash out at those in our midst who we saw as local ethnic representatives of those who had attacked our country, our home. The media directly and indirectly reminded us that indiscriminate retaliation on any level was not right, justified or acceptable. Judging a person by the way he or she looks is easy and no excuse of injustice. Our country, thanks in large part to a diversified media, has come a long way since the nightmare of September 11. Sadly, we still have an immeasurable way to go before we are any where near back to "normal". In some ways, our country will never be the same again, but that does not mean it cannot be better. Get through this we will, and we will do so with a more united yet diversified country that represents and includes all of us. For those who doubt that, just remember the faces of the men and women who worked together to save others that day and in the days that followed, and of those who lined the streets of New York to cheer on others rushing to the rescue. No one there looked away. No one was there alone. In spirit, we were all there together.