The news
Oxforddictionary.com gives the following definition of the word news:
Many of us receive information in many formats and mediums. Just this morning I have received information via the radio, the internet, the television, and two newspapers. Later I will read journals and a book or books. I have also received information via direct communication with some people - via email and in person. While I am not convinced that all the information I received from various sources was noteworthy and new, all of it combines at times to educate, confuse, stimulate, bore and elicit many emotions in me.
Although the means of communicating information has changed since I was a young child living in the country without the benefit of electricity, delivered newspapers or magazines the need for humans and a number of other animal species to exchange information seems to have existed since the emergence or creation of living organisms. As I recently mentioned in a blog, even trees and other life forms have the ability to communicate. When I was a child the primary means of sharing information was word of mouth, the radio (occasional since listening often required borrowing the battery from the car), books, an occasional phone call when a phone was accessible, and letters. Those means of communication often required one to be patient. Waiting was not usually an important issue unless one was waiting for news of the health of a loved one or some important world event. I can conjure in my head an image of I and others huddled around a radio or talking too loudly while speaking through the transmitter end of a heavy, black phone.
Later, of course, we had regular access to the radio and the television. By the time I lived in cities such as Washington, DC, I spent a considerable amount of time reading the Washington Post or the New York Times. I also listened regularly to the 6:00 p.m. or even the 11:00 p.m. news on the television. It seems the greater the availability the more I was convinced that responsible citizenship required I be fully informed. When I moved from New Jersey to a remote island community in Alaska without a consistent operating electrical generator and satellites only available for military use, I was again thrown into the scant news world of my youth. I am sure that I suffered acute emotional distress at being cut off from the continuous flow of information. Yet, six months later when I was in New York City for a meeting I paid little attention to the television or the newspapers.
Folks who know me know that I now rely mostly on National Public Radio, the local newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, emails, texts, letters, times with friends and books (many books). There is also the smart cell phone and the computer which bring not only the voices of many, but a constant stream of “breaking news”.
The news not only comes from many sources, but is constant and not always ‘new’. Instead of being restricted to two or three major news broadcasts a day there is news delivery 24/7. The same information is analyzed, repackaged and presented over and over again. It would seem often that even in the areas of news coverage more is considered better.
Yet, in the midst of the constancy of this stream of information I do not always feel better informed or more able to form an opinion. I also do not seem to have the time and energy to identify and experience my emotional reactions to all this information. This morning I read:
I must have read dozen of other articles and listened to numerous discussions. Clearly I should feel well prepared to face the day with wise judgments and opinions. Yet, it is not the case. The truth is:
It seems obvious to me that it is important that I become as well educated as possible so that I can be an informed citizen who makes the best educated guesses about whether to vote yea or nay on a variety of issues. Yet, what seems most important is that the real purpose of news is to exchange information which is going to help us find ways of together creating a more just, harmonious world – to find ways of enjoying the magic and the miracles which surround one - the magic of that seed which produces amazing flowers and food – the delight of a shared smile, a laugh, or tenderness – the pain or fear which leads to suicide bombs, domestic violence, murder, addiction and all manner of disharmony.
It is easy for this human to get lost in the forest of information and to forget that I came to the forest to explore, absorb, delight and create. The good news is that the absence of news may allow me to experience the news that is really important. Perhaps!
Written August 9 2016
Oxforddictionary.com gives the following definition of the word news:
- Newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events.
- A broadcast or published report of news:
- Informal information not previously known to someone.
Many of us receive information in many formats and mediums. Just this morning I have received information via the radio, the internet, the television, and two newspapers. Later I will read journals and a book or books. I have also received information via direct communication with some people - via email and in person. While I am not convinced that all the information I received from various sources was noteworthy and new, all of it combines at times to educate, confuse, stimulate, bore and elicit many emotions in me.
Although the means of communicating information has changed since I was a young child living in the country without the benefit of electricity, delivered newspapers or magazines the need for humans and a number of other animal species to exchange information seems to have existed since the emergence or creation of living organisms. As I recently mentioned in a blog, even trees and other life forms have the ability to communicate. When I was a child the primary means of sharing information was word of mouth, the radio (occasional since listening often required borrowing the battery from the car), books, an occasional phone call when a phone was accessible, and letters. Those means of communication often required one to be patient. Waiting was not usually an important issue unless one was waiting for news of the health of a loved one or some important world event. I can conjure in my head an image of I and others huddled around a radio or talking too loudly while speaking through the transmitter end of a heavy, black phone.
Later, of course, we had regular access to the radio and the television. By the time I lived in cities such as Washington, DC, I spent a considerable amount of time reading the Washington Post or the New York Times. I also listened regularly to the 6:00 p.m. or even the 11:00 p.m. news on the television. It seems the greater the availability the more I was convinced that responsible citizenship required I be fully informed. When I moved from New Jersey to a remote island community in Alaska without a consistent operating electrical generator and satellites only available for military use, I was again thrown into the scant news world of my youth. I am sure that I suffered acute emotional distress at being cut off from the continuous flow of information. Yet, six months later when I was in New York City for a meeting I paid little attention to the television or the newspapers.
Folks who know me know that I now rely mostly on National Public Radio, the local newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, emails, texts, letters, times with friends and books (many books). There is also the smart cell phone and the computer which bring not only the voices of many, but a constant stream of “breaking news”.
The news not only comes from many sources, but is constant and not always ‘new’. Instead of being restricted to two or three major news broadcasts a day there is news delivery 24/7. The same information is analyzed, repackaged and presented over and over again. It would seem often that even in the areas of news coverage more is considered better.
Yet, in the midst of the constancy of this stream of information I do not always feel better informed or more able to form an opinion. I also do not seem to have the time and energy to identify and experience my emotional reactions to all this information. This morning I read:
- Major speeches by presidential candidates.
- 18-year-old teenager sentenced to 8 years in prison.
- Suicide bomber kills 74 at Pakistan hospital
- “Elitism won’t defeat Trump”
- “Hannity's Veneration of Ignorance.
- “Pokémon Go player shot, killed in San Francisco”
- “Teen saves driver in pond.”
- How the observation of a disposal baby diaper is inspiring brain research?
I must have read dozen of other articles and listened to numerous discussions. Clearly I should feel well prepared to face the day with wise judgments and opinions. Yet, it is not the case. The truth is:
- I am overwhelmed with a myriad of opinions and so called facts.
- I will spend much of the day on the routine tasks of living and working.
- In my head I will compose erudite responses to various articles but I will not find or make the time to put pen to paper or fingers to keys despite numerous little notes to myself on paper and in my phone. I really do want to write Bret Stephens my appreciation of his opinion article in the Wall Street Journal. I need to think more about the work of those research scientist who are exploring applying the concept of disposal diapers to brain research. I “need” to read the many books which were reviewed on NPR and in the newspapers. Of course, I also “need” to read the stack of books I have already committed myself to reading.
- If not careful/intentional I will miss the smile, the grimace, the furrowed brows, the worried looks, the amazing delight and the many other “news” stories which present an invitation today.
It seems obvious to me that it is important that I become as well educated as possible so that I can be an informed citizen who makes the best educated guesses about whether to vote yea or nay on a variety of issues. Yet, what seems most important is that the real purpose of news is to exchange information which is going to help us find ways of together creating a more just, harmonious world – to find ways of enjoying the magic and the miracles which surround one - the magic of that seed which produces amazing flowers and food – the delight of a shared smile, a laugh, or tenderness – the pain or fear which leads to suicide bombs, domestic violence, murder, addiction and all manner of disharmony.
It is easy for this human to get lost in the forest of information and to forget that I came to the forest to explore, absorb, delight and create. The good news is that the absence of news may allow me to experience the news that is really important. Perhaps!
Written August 9 2016
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