I read the news today, oh boy!

On By Alfredo LanierIn Covid pandemic, Internet, newspapers, politics, Uncategorized
This Halloween the news was particularly unnerving

I always thought of myself as an optimist, at times perhaps a delusion-ist. For sure, I’ve suffered bouts of the blues but usually sprung back quite readily, convinced that most problems can be solved if broken down into smaller, more chewable bites.

But this Halloween, and the following Day of the Dead in Mexico, the daily barrage of news became truly unsettling. To begin, there are two major wars going on, both reported, illustrated and micro-analyzed nonstop in newspapers, the internet and television.

In a few instances the media has amplified news of the carnage, as if reality weren’t horrifying enough. A piece in the New York Times reported that a photo published somewhere of a heap of Palestinian children wrapped in white cloth—and supposedly slaughtered by Israeli forces—actually was taken during the war in Syria a decade ago. Similarly, a video clip of a young girl supposedly being being beaten and aired as proof of Hamas’ ruthlessness, came from a completely unrelated incident filmed in Guatemala in 2015.

The wars in Gaza and Ukraine are but two entrées in the daily menu of horrors served each morning on the internet, when I’m barely awake. There’s the perpetual alarm over climate change, which seems to cause or aggravate practically every natural disaster these days, from forest fires in Canada to Hurricane Otis in Acapulco. Otis’ wind velocities exploded from approximately 50 to an 165 miles a hour, during a scant 24 hours, for reasons not yet clear, and which caught local authorities unprepared.

Add to that almost daily mass shootings and reports about the Covid virus which refuses to leave us alone, and people begin to feel what some mental health professionals are now labeling as “media saturation overload.”

If Americans had a functioning democracy, perhaps they could feel a bit more sanguine about possible solutions. Instead, the U.S. Congress has turned into a ship of fools, where pettiness and bickering trump constructive debate. And the presidential race in 2024 now seems headed toward a choice between a trim but occasionally unsteady 80-year-old, and a whale-size Republican, only a few years younger, and certifiably bat-shit crazy.

In ancient times, folks spun mythological tales and created pantheons of gods to try to understand a baffling universe. Today, fringe right- and left-wingers—some normally rational and intelligent people—likewise resort to obscure conspiracies that supposedly explain the craziness of the world around them.

A few days ago, over dessert, someone we hadn’t seen for a while predicted the collapse of the U.S. economy in the next couple of years. Huh? Likewise, a dinner companion in Mexico City a few months ago revealed—without provocation from us—part of his portfolio of plots and “things they don’t want you to know” about the multi-million corruption of the Biden family; Chinese plots related to the Covid pandemic and nefarious collusion by drug companies. What?

Maybe Stew and I should screen our dinner companions more carefully.

Norwegian painter Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”, illustrates what happens if you spend too much time reading news.

I admit to having a “news addiction.” What’s going to take to stop Putin’s attempted takeover of Ukraine? When and if Israel manages to dominate the territory of Gaza, what then? Who’s going to be put in charge?

But overdosing on punditry and speculation seldom enlightens and instead aggravates anxiety: There are seldom clear answers to all those what-ifs and even if there were, the outcomes are clearly beyond our control or fuss about.

Articles about media-induced anxiety offer some obvious solutions, the principal one being to limit the time spent consuming news and turning off the incessant pinging of news notifications on the phone. Indeed, I’ve instinctively developed an allergy to those “instant analyses” and skip them and zip through newspaper internet pages down to the travel section, arts, movie reviews and even cooking. (I don’t even cook and pass the recipes to Stew who ignores most of them.)

I already broke that pledge yesterday, though, when I turned to New York Times columnist David Brooks’ latest offering, “How to Stay Sane in Brutalizing Times.” Among some of his prescriptions were humility, generosity toward those with different opinions (except Trump) and perhaps most important, gratitude for the “blessings we enjoy”, such as not being on one of the many lines of fire around the world.

A Washington Post reader suggested a simpler but effective solution: “I recommend looking at the small picture,” she wrote. “Plant some native plants, put up some bird feeders, turn off the news. Make your small piece of the world a friendly place to all species. A small difference is still a difference, after all.” I like that one.

Perhaps the most practical solution for me is right at home. At bedtime, instead of taking one last look at news bulletins, Stew turns to one of his innumerable mystery and legal thriller novels for twenty minutes or so, and goes right to sleep.

That mental health strategy sounded pretty good, so last night I began reading John Grisham’s “The Exchange.” A few pages into it, I was snoring soundly.

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28 thoughts on “I read the news today, oh boy!”

  1. molly and luke

    “certifiably bat shit crazy” must find ways to use that! you are so right. Molly and I use the Stew approach. We read in bed and almost always a mindless novel. Thrillers for Molly Sci-fi or fantasy for me. Thanks for including us on your blog list Molly and Luke

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  2. dianne walta hart

    Many of your readers are with you every step of the day. Donna Leon’s books about Venice have my eyes dropping in seconds; it is a wonderful antidote to thinking – or dreaming – about reality.

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  3. babsofsanmiguel

    My only aggravation is that when I try to post on your blog it is not possible.  When Iattempt to get my old password back that is not possible either…….AAARGH Get rid of those nutty dinner partners.  READ, enjoy your outdoors and the spectacularviews and for God’s sake get rid of the news “pings”. Barbara San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

    415 124-9450 Mx Cell

    http://www.babsofsanmiguel.blogspot.com

    “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing”                                            Helen Keller

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    1. Rid of the nutty dinner partners for sure, or do like Ron Stephens, who has his share of nutty friends, and he cuts them off the send they veer off into conspiracies and all that. Have unsubscribed from a number of news reports, also a good idea. They keep repeating themselves anyway.

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  5. I stay away from tv news. I read/skim two newspapers every morning and call it good enough. At night, I’m also reading fiction. Just finished John Sandford’s latest and on to Barry Eisner. It also helps to remind myself that I have very little control over global events.

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    2. Your idea about surrendering control is one they talk about constantly I’m A.A. and it’s an incredibly powerful concept that I try to keep in mind even if I don’t always follow it. Thanks for the reminder.

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  7. norm

    For passing into sleep mode, I use isometric exercise, resistance sequence from bottom to top of all the joints to release any built up tension. It helps clear the mind as well, as you have to think about the process. It works 90% of the time.
    On the news, treat it as entertainment. I mean it, what are the chances that any civilian has any effect on world events? The news is just a form of entertainment that has little to do with our daily lives. What does matter is how we treat those we encounter in our daily discourse. The rest is fluff.
    And yes, US politics are pretty strange. At all levels. I go to township meetings, get to know the players. I used to be a AFL-CIO delegate for my union when I was working. At both levels of participation, my influence was and is minimal. My state and national level , let alone international influence is so small, could not be measured. So why worry? Be happy.

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    1. I like your micro approach to the news. Actually, that requires humility, to admit that we’re but a speck in the process rather that pretend, and be frustrated by, our inability change the big picture. By the way, i took Stew’s cure and I am reading John Grisham’s latest. Not great literature, but it’s entertaining and keeps your mind off things.

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    2. Hello again Norm. I wrote a reply and I think I lost it. I wrote that I agree with you to look at the small, rather than the big picture, which we cannot infuence anyway. So yes, not to worry and try to be happy. Al

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  8. Ellen Hayes

    God bless you, both. I understand. I’ve always been a newsy person – and very political in my preference of news, always leaning on the liberal side of the scale. I campaigned for George McGovern in 1972 in his run against Nixon. I was age 12 and in opposition to my parent’s views.

    So, after the 2016 presidential election here in the U.S., I was nothing but a quaking heap of jello. I broke down in tears every time I thought about it, even at work and continued to do so for weeks after the election. I had to seek professional assistance over that one. The thought of that man ever coming to power again still brings me to tears pushing a decade later.

    Back when I was still seeing my therapist, moderation of my news consumption became one of the keys to getting my spirit back on a happier track. I have followed it to this day, but I don’t, never have, and never will turn it completely off. But limiting it does help.

    The New York Times is my go to. along with Reuters online. Both of these are consumed very limitedly – headline news and, like you, Al, the humanities sections. I like the BBC as well. Local news and CBS evening news some evenings and that’s the meat of it. Point is that the New York Times is the most liberal leaning of my information choices. I don’t watch MSNBC or even CNN – too biased. If I’m going to consume news media, I want the closest thing to the truth as can be had. I cross reference the important stuff.

    All that said, this morning the New York Times reported that Donald Trump leads Joseph Biden in polls of next year’s presidential run in five of six critical states. The man who has been indicted on over 90 counts in four different courts has a significant enough lead in the polls to take power of one of the (if not THE) most powerful countries on the planet. The U.S. has gone insane.

    I’ve come to the conclusion that it is hopeless. I am so thankful to be old. Even at my age with late stage cancer, I may not escape some of the hell that is looming on our horizon. There is nothing we can do to save it at this point. I used to believe that change was possible but it is not. It’s pretty much a done deal. So, the lady who recommends focusing on the small picture is seriously on to something. The best advice I’ve heard yet and something I’ve been doing for a while now without even realizing it.

    I will continue to keep track of the goings on around me, I will continue to vote and contribute to the campaigns of the better of the candidates in our elections, and I will mourn for Mother Earth and my fellow inhabitants as we are destroyed, but it will be within my own little realm of what is most beautiful, loving, and perfect to me for as long as I can keep it that way.

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    1. Ellen: Thank you for your comments. Yes, the polls, it’s very depressing but I haven’t given up yet and neither should you. Think of the midterm elections in 2022 when almost all the crazies lost. Also think of the volatility of the electoral process. DeSantis was billed as the Great White Hope, and he’s now on the verge of disappearing in the polls. So don’t give up, though, between you and me, I wish the Democrats could come up with a fresher face than Biden. Hang in there.

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  9. pberger4e061bef6a

    I am writing this at 9 a.m. Phoenix time. there is a live streaming recital from St. Sulpice, starting now. Look for Paul Fey, organist, live. Search within youtube.
    Phil

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  10. Creigh Gordon

    I watch the nightly national news, not to find out what’s happened but to see how it’s being reported.

    As far as our batshit former guy, I’m seeing signs that editors and reporters are beginning to ask harder questions and point out consequences. For example, Stephanopoulos cutting off an interview with Rep. Scalise when he refused to say whether the 2020 election was stolen or not.

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    1. Dee Tillotson

      Creigh, I’m certainly not a great fan of Scalise, but by just putting my objective hat on, I would say that Stephanopoulos was asking for Scalise’ opinion, not any proof either way to ground his opinion in fact. That is why, most likely, Scalise bypassed the question. He had no proof to back up his opinion if he had given one. That the 2020 election was NOT stolen is that our US judiciary has rendered decisions over and over and over again that the election was a just one, which is why it is my opinion. Stephanopoulos was wrong in cutting short the interview.

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      1. I can imagine why Stephanopolous was irritated. During my days as a reporter, I remember doing an article about the Toyota assembly plant in Germantown, Kentucky, and trying to get a straight answer out of the Japanese managers, which would smile and giggle but never answer any question no matter how many times I rephrased it. You’re right that the courts turned down I think about 60 challenges to the election results, which have been scrutinized to death and beyond, yet real Trump believer keep talking about a stolen election. The military guy who was briefly Trump’s chief of staff, his last name was Kelly I believe, recently also said that he can’t begin to understand the logic of some of these folks. Oh well.

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    2. And what do you expect Scalise or the new Speaker of the House to say? Their political survival depends on a mob of people that seriously believe the election was stolen and the moon is made of bleu cheese.

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