A moment of silence ??

Congress was sufficiently moved by the death of entertainer Michael Jackson to have an official moment of silence in honor of his passing, and President Obama was moved to send a personal message to the family. An email that has been circulating from a marine on duty in Iraq asks a simple question worth pondering - why does a wealthy entertainer rate a Congressional moment of silence and a personal note to the family from the president, but none of the 4,300+ (and still growing) military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan rate such honors?

It does seem to me a reflection of the shallowness of our society that we think more of entertainers than of the military men and women who go in danger's way every single day in far off parts of the world.