Simply..being informed....

9/5/2018

One of the joys of my Amazing April was that for weeks I did not hear about he-who-shall-not-be-named (and whose tweets I refuse to read any more) or Brexit.

I blithely choose to have a totally news-free day and listen to Mozart instead, but the issue of trying to be a well informed, politically aware citizen has never been more difficult to resolve.

How do I manage it and stay sane?

15 Comments

Susan

10/5/2018 02:54:14 am

I do resonate with this, Freda. Each day was being slightly tarnished by a faint sense of hopelessness, as a result of repeated news of he-who-shall-not-be-named. Similarly, my solution this month has been, silence or music or very selected BBC radio programmes, with the occasional iPM (radio 4 at 1700) with the lovely Eddie Mair.

Freda

11/5/2018 01:45:57 pm

Learning to be selective is key, and if there's one thing worse than false hope it's false hopelessness.

Lotta

10/5/2018 03:21:16 am

I know I've mentioned before that I seldom seek out mainstream news from any source, but somehow the important stuff always finds me... sometimes via routes I would never have imagined! But it means there is space in between for perspective and a base of sanity (mostly!) on which it can land. It works for me and I feel I have enough of an idea of what is going on in the world. And we can't possibly stay informed about everything... If I'm overly focussed on the world 'out there' then I'm missing what's happening in my immediate vicinity which is where I'm more likely to be able to make any difference at all, not to mention losing connection with the only person I can realistically change - myself! And I think more sanity in the world would be a helpful thing.
I sometimes ask myself the question (and I guess you could ask the same about your Amazing April) - was the world any worse off because I didn't read the news? Or the more challenging one... what would I have done about it if I'd known?
I'm not suggesting we abandon all news, but I have this image in my head of our collective brains being like a huge box that keeps getting piles of newspapers added to it everyday... Unless there is something in the box converting all that news into something useful then it is just a box of news getting heavier and heavier... It might just as well be a box full of joy! And who knows what good might come of that... :-)

Lotta

10/5/2018 03:22:09 am

Oooh, that is a long comment! Sorry! Apparently I have a lot of thoughts about this!

Freda

11/5/2018 01:50:19 pm

A lot of very interesting thoughts. Thank you for sharing them.

Freda

11/5/2018 01:49:36 pm

I agree with so much of what you say Lotta and that box of newspapers getting heavier and heavier is a great image. It seems to be just chance whether or not we learn to process all of it.

cathy

10/5/2018 04:22:24 am

when you've figured it out, let me know. I feel it's important to know what's happening in my country & the world, but a lot of it upsets me. do I have the right to ignore what's going on because of my feelings? no easy answer.

Freda

11/5/2018 01:51:31 pm

It is anything but simple Cathy! (But there are some good ideas among the comments...)

Linda

10/5/2018 10:07:22 am

I refuse to get drawn into following any he-said, they-said type news reporting. In the long distant past I was offered a job as a trainee journalist (I turned it down for something with more money) and have viewed the occupation from a sideways viewpoint ever since. I'm not sorry I didn't take the job. I think journalists are under constant pressure to produce 'new' slants on everything, and it's too easy to be caught up in manufactured panic.
I prefer to take the view that things eventually shake down, and then facts can be examined. I like radio bulletins - short and to the point, so I'm aware of what is going on, but not sucked into it unless I choose!

Freda

11/5/2018 01:54:31 pm

Now 'manufactured panic' is a great term for what passes for news! The pressure to fill every 24 hours with 'news' results in some bizarre reporting....thank you for commenting Linda.

Lucille

12/5/2018 01:44:34 am

We even have manufactured panic about the weather.
How fragile we are made to feel. I remember being more influenced by the absurd Protect and Survive booklet than the original Protest and Survive movement. I honestly tried to prepare myself for hiding under the stairs with a few tins of food as a newly fledged adult awaiting the Bomb.

cath

10/5/2018 11:29:32 am

Staying - especially politically- informed is hard as much daily news is either overwhelming or evaporating the next day.

As long as I can keep/sense my commitment to greater causes like nature, climate, poverty, freedom f.i. I am at peace with myself for choosing not to listen/watch the daily news.

And as Lotta says, the bigger items reach me anyway.

Freda

11/5/2018 01:56:07 pm

Making a considered choice then being at peace with it sounds like a very good place to be.

Madeleine

10/5/2018 04:16:05 pm

I agree with Lotta, you will always find out about the important stuff. The other thing to remember is that what we are hearing is not really true anyway, it is a media-skewed version of the truth. And it is so selective, much of what we need to know, or would like to know is left out.

I haven't listened to the news for over 30 years and did this for my own sanity. It is only very recently in history that we have been able to know what is going on in far away places. I believe this pushes us into overload as in most cases we are powerless to do anything about it and it can give the impression that much of humanity is evil, hopeless or doomed!

So I choose a more local focus. What's happening in your area and can you help? Perhaps you could be into nature regeneration, helping refugees assimilate, pushing for cycle lanes on the road etc...

That said, I do occasionally look at selective bits of news, especially to do with things that could have a big impact on my life - eg economic forecasts that may effect housing and retirement savings etc...

Madeleine.x

Freda

11/5/2018 02:00:13 pm

I often think of the historical perspective and that if you did hear of far away wars and disasters it was long after the event - you did not watch it live while eating your evening meal! How can that help, or be good for anyone? I do agree that looking at the things we can do something about makes a lot of sense. Thank you Madeleine.

Simply..being informed....

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