Lent(ish) – Day 5

I posted a few days ago that I’ve been thinking about conducting a social experiment about how the news media affects us.  I was on Twitter one day and everyone was talking about Lent, so I decided to put my experiment in motion and use the Lenten season to do it, so I’ve unplugged from all news broadcasts on TV, radio, and online outlets for the next 40 days.  My only source of information is whatever I glean from conversations around me and social media posts on Twitter and Facebook (just the text posts, not the videos).

Let me just say that Lent just happened to fall at the same time I’d been thinking about doing this experiment and it helped push me into actually doing it.  As I said in my first post I’m not a Lent observer.  Giving up coffee or beer or chocolate for 40 days won’t bring you closer to Christ.  If you want to give up a vice then give it up for good, but if you want to be closer to Christ then read His Word daily and practice what He preached.

Anyway, the basis for my experiment was brought about one day when after driving somewhere I realized I was very agitated.  I wasn’t agitated when I got in the car, and there was no traffic, so I started to wonder if listening to the talk radio show I heard during the drive had affected me.  I started to pay attention to my moods more closely and realized that I could definitely see how taking in the news made me feel agitated, or sad, or just plain dissolutioned with the world.  We all know that news outlets thrive on bad news.  They prey on our seemingly subconscious desire to slow down and look at the accident, and they skew their reporting to the Left or the Right.

So I decided to stop taking in all of this stuff and see what happened.  Would I become completely out of touch with the world, but be happier?

The first few days were a little hard because I’m a news junkie. I like knowing what’s going on in the world.  But I stayed on course.  Then suddenly the whole experiment was put into jeopardy when the catastrophe hit Japan.  I saw a Twitter post saying there was an 8.9 earthquake followed by a tsunami.

Now I was in trouble.  I started to grab the TV remote, justifying to myself that this was a game changing event and I really needed to know about it.  But then I stopped and realized that this would actually help my experiment.  Would I be able to gather enough info from sources around me to know what happened, or would this event go unrealized?

It’s been a few days now, and the only video I’ve seen about the disaster has been a fleeting glimpse on a TV in a restaurant that showed houses being swept away.  Just that small intake made me feel terrible.

I mean, really, does seeing the utter devastation make the experience of knowing there was a catastrophe in Japan any better?  Having your brain constantly bombarded with those images only makes you feel worse every time you replay them in your mind. 

So I have to ask myself what would be different if I watched the news or videos that people are posting on Twitter.  The answer is that my actions would be the same: I would still pray every day for Japan, and I would give to a relief fund to try and help out.  The only other thing I could do is go over there, which like 99% of us is unrealistic. The difference is that I don’t feel that heavy weight that would be caused by seeing the destruction and devastation or having every minute of a news broadcast dedicated to it rolling around in my head.  You may not realize it, but it effects you, and you don’t need it to know that there is suffering going on over there. 

So far, my experiment has been interesting.  I’ve gathered all of the information I need about world and local events just through the sources around me without the 5 thousand other stories about murders and rapes and fires and every other nasty thing the news fills their broadcasts with.  I have all of the truly relevant information I need without the rest of the crap.  I’m experiencing a better mood, and finding that I’m actually more productive not looking at the hours and hours of horrifying news coverage of the disaster.

I’ll continue to check in as my Lent(ish) experiment progresses.

Goodnight, and Good News.

I’m a pretty avid news reader.  I like to be informed about what’s going on in the world and in my community.  With my iPhone I’m able to receive a ton of information.  Here’s a “short” list of what’s on my phone: CNN, Time, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Fox, Huffington Post, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Mashable, Endgadget, WOAI (local San Antonio news), NPR, Al Jazeera, and Dilbert.  That last one is just to cheer me up after reading all that news.

The reason I look at so many different outlets is because I want to get an array of interpretations of worldly events.  I know too many people that stick to just the news service that suits their political stance, and that’s a shame because both sides skew their stories, and unfortunately it seems that most of the stories aren’t news that makes people smile either.  Actually, I find that most of the time I’m agitated after reading the news because it’s frustrating to read about the political rancor in our country that permeates just about everything we do, and the deplorable way humans treat each other all over the world.

I’ve thought about not reading the news, but I’m afraid of becoming an uninformed oaf with no idea what’s going on in the world.  But now that we’ve reached the season of Lent, I’ve decided to unplug.  I don’t normally participate in Lent because I feel it’s an empty ritual that doesn’t really prove anything.  If you want to impress me then give up that vice for life, not just 40 days.

Anyway, the only reason I’m doing this now is because a short term experiment is really what I need, and all of the stories I’ve read about Lent today gave me the idea to do it now.  So, for the next 40 days I’m going to avoid the news.  I’ve deleted all of the news apps from my phone, removed the news feeds from Twitter, and installed the Charlie Sheen filter on my home computer that is available for FireFox now.  I’m going to avoid all talk radio, and only listen to Christ-centered music, and the only book I’m going to read is my Bible.

It’ll be interesting to see the results.  Will I be able to glean all of the news I need from friendly conversations with people around me, or will I become a social black hole?  We’ll see.

Beautiful Soul

It was kind of a sad weekend for my family.  We had to lay my aunt Jackie to rest.  She was a pretty remarkable woman.  She was an unassuming person with a wonderful smile and a good word for everyone.  She had a tough childhood that made her feel that she was less than worthy of anything.  This continued into her adult life with an abusive marriage that lasted a long time.  It wasn't until she was older that she broke free from that relationship and struck out on her own for the first time.  She met a very nice man who showed her that not only was she worthy of being loved, but that life was an adventure that she was just beginning.

Jackie suddenly found a whole new world in which people cared about what she thought, and what she thought was usually very sagely and delivered with perfect timing.  She began going on cruises and exploring the world.  She decided not to waste another moment of her life, which was personified once after tasting a rather odious glass of wine when she commented "life is too short for bad wine." She poured it out and opened another bottle.

When she was in her late 50's she decided to go to college.  The new love of her life was a college professor with several PhD's and spoke seven languages.  It's difficult to be around someone like that and not catch the learning bug, so she enrolled in the Texas Woman's University.  She found a whole new world in academia.  For most of her life she was told that she was dumb, but she discovered that not only was she not dumb, she was smarter than most of us.  She took classes and got certifications and the people at the college noticed her immediately.  She received so many certifications that the college had to create advanced level certifications just to keep up with her.

Jackie finished her undergraduate degree at age 61 with a 4.0 GPA.  But that wasn't enough for her, she went on to receive a Masters degree a few years later, again with a perfect 4.0 average.  She finally became a teacher, bringing her education full circle to do what she did best, enlighten others.

Jackie's funeral was, for the lack of a better word, astounding.  The pastor began with a eulogy and some scripture, then she said they were going to play some songs that Jackie really liked, and while the music played if anyone would like to say something about Jackie they could come up and do so.

I kid you not when I say that literally for over an hour people streamed up to the podium to talk about Jackie.  Women who worked for her when she was a manager at an insurance agency many years ago talked about how Jackie had mentored them and helped them through marital problems and other difficult times in their lives.  Professors from the college came up and talked about how Jackie was the most incredible learner they had ever met, and that the college even began a scholarship program in her name.  Friends from years past, family, and acquaintances all spoke of what a wonderful, giving person she was.  It was amazing to see how many lives she had touched.

It's been said that a person's life can be measured by their funeral.  If that is true, then there is no scale big enough to measure the life of Hettie Jacqueline Nye.  She will be missed, and all of our lives are just a little less joyful without her presence.

Rest in peace, beautiful soul.

The Bill of Subterfuge

I just have to weigh in on the news I've been reading about the bill defeated today in Congress by a Republican filibuster.  The bill would make free medical care available to 9/11 first responders, which I think is s good thing, but the press is saying the Republicans defeated it because they didn't like the price tag.

That isn't exactly accurate.  The Democrats knew this was an important piece of legislation that the American people would like, so they secretly added some things that weren't publicized, such as abortions being funded with tax payer dollars.

This kind of subterfuge happens all of the time in Washington.  It's a game to them, with the ultimate losers being the American people.  They don't really care about us, they just want their agenda to pass.  Both sides of the aisle do it.  But unfortunately for the Republicans the Democrats really played dirty pool with this one and the press is playing along and reporting the story without all of the details.  So now the GOP is being painted as uncaring villains.

The tragedy is that the 9/11 veterans won't get the care they deserve, not because the Republicans don't care about them like the press is saying, but because the Democrats loaded up the bill with things they knew the Republicans wouldn't vote for.

It's appalling how politicians treat us citizens, and I continue to say that the single greatest danger to this country isn't terrorists, it's Republicans and Democrats.

"God, please wrap your healing arms around those brave people who put their lives in danger on 9/11.  Heal their wounds, and comfort their hearts.  Amen."

When Freedom of Speech Attacks

There's been a lot of press about WikiLeaks lately.  Somehow they got their hands on some confidential documents from the U.S. government and decided everyone on the planet had a the right to know what they said.  Some of the dispatches were embarrassing, with diplomats painting other heads of state in a bad light, but some of the correspondence details important U.S. asset locations such as dams, communication pipelines, industrial plants, and other things that the U.S. see's as critical assets that could hurt the country if they were destroyed.  Thanks WikiLeaks for giving the enemy a target list, with directions.

So where does the line stop between freedom of speech and just plain irresponsibility?  I've read article after article on every major news web site about how WikiLeaks was putting soldiers overseas and citizens here in this country at risk, and I thought to myself "Are you kidding?  You people do this every day!"

It's true, every time the U.S. does something to capture or kill high ranking enemy combatants the press details exactly how they did it.  I remember several instances where coalition forces tracked down the enemy by triangulating cell phone signals, so the press tells everyone how they did it.  So now the enemy knows not to use cell phones. 

The enemy learns fast, and the press is their greatest asset for information on what we're doing to fight them.  They learn troop movements, tactics, and how our technology works simply by logging into any of the news outlets every day.

I think WikiLeaks is doing a disservice to this country, but the news media has no room to condemn them when they are just as guilty.  I'm all for freedom of speech, but I'm more concerned about the safety of our troops.  I think the press should be held accountable for being responsible with their mandate of reporting events.

The lives of our military members is more important than their ratings.

"God, it's unfortunate that we can't seem to get along here on this planet.  Please help us find love for one another.  And please keep our troops safe.  Thanks."