Terrorism, Fake news, lies, death, destruction, plague, natural disasters, Trump, politicians in general, mass shootings, racism disguised as populism or nationalism, pre-existing conditions, another Kardashian story… The news is beyond depressing… Anyone of us would be justified in completely shutting the world out in a pursuit of peace and sanity.
Yet, how do you avoid being inundated with the negativity of daily news feeds versus staying informed as a citizen? The answer is… you really cannot.
Of course I would not recommend reading everything you see in your quest to stay informed on the issues facing our world daily. The headlines alone, often sensationalized, are enough by themselves to ensure anxiety even if you do not respond to the click bait titles. Just deciphering the source of information is challenging enough, before you decide what part of your time and energy will be expended, but the headlines are usually helpful in determining the bias (or at least attempts at being non-biased) for news disseminating services.
Unfortunately, more than ever, we all must stay informed. It is not a fun task, but we must fish in the cesspool, in our attempts to understand the depths of the struggles of others as well as our own. We must siphon through the lies and despair fed to us by the wealthy and their prized puppets aka politicians to attempt to garner an understanding the policies that will not only affect our present bottom lines, but the direction of our children’s future as well.
So go ahead, against your better judgment… and your initial mental health… take 15-30 minutes of every day and read through the news feeds. It will not be pretty, and it often paints a picture of a society with no moral or ethical compass. Then go beyond some of the headlines and try to find some of the few remaining journalistic sources that attempt to deliver facts. Every news outlet has a bias… but some still care about news as a whole and not just solely pushing propaganda and political agendas.
Do not let the negativity scare you. Do not let it defeat you. Stay informed. Stay active and engaged. I am no conspiracy theorist, but someone that believes that the ruling 1% count on our disengagement and disinterest. They count on our feeling disenfranchised and helpless. We are not. Educate yourself… stay informed and stay engaged. We have seen uprisings in other nations in which the will of the people defeated anarchies and dictatorships. In our “democracy” the will of the people is only defeated when the people are disengaged and apathetic to the process.
Do not feed into the negativity. Do not let the process become overwhelming. The more engaged and more informed we all are, the closer we come as a nation to actually have the principals of a real democracy, in which the voice of the actual populace is heard instead of the tireless directing by much smaller numbers who understand the process and stay engaged at every turn to enforce their will over ours.
Well said.