Bartholomew, I have wondered the same thing. It almost seems like we can't live without this stuff any more. And it's not the most important stories that we latch onto -- it's the ones with all the TV-ready elements. So we're transfixed by Elian (cute boy, tragic loss, parental love, evil governments, etc.), but somehow forget that there are lots and lots of kids in crisis. We're riveted by the OJ saga (handsome celebrity, beautiful ex-wife, sex, crooked cops, sex, drugs, race, wealth), but ignore the fact that there are countless murders occurring every day in this country.

The other thing that we seem to latch onto at all costs is communal grief over the deaths of celebrities we've never met, and who typically aren't worthy of the extreme deification that we confer on them -- whether it's Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy Junior, or any other person in the public eye who has passed away in recent days. I don't get it, but it's such a recurring situation that there must be a deep need out there.