Why I Don't Watch the News

Sunday, May 23, In the year of our Lord 2010

Moosomin Saskatchewan, Parents House

8:09 AM, Anticipating Church.

Weather is cold but bright.

For the past four years I have not watched the news if I can help it. This might seem strange to most people and perhaps deserves an explanation.

I am the sort of person that thinks about things a whole lot, trying to find answers and solve problems. The news presents problems so big and often so terrible that it bothers me and I must find some sort of answer and become part of a solution. The problems are often so big and so far away that there is really nothing I can realistically do except watch / read about it in the news. When I read headlines about Babies being thrown away or our national health care system being really stupid or anything regarding the war in Afghanistan there is really nothing I can do about it. I've written letters regarding our national health care system, and they might have been read by someone, but its all just too big and too far away to bother getting worked up about. It happens every day, over and over again, like a hammer trying to beat me senseless or dull and corrode my sense of morality.

Does my knowing about a situation change that situation in any way? Once I have been told that x horrible event has taken place, what am I supposed to do about it? I can't do anything about most of them really, and this makes me disillusioned and jaded. I suppose I could pray about the things I see in the news, but I honestly would rather not watch the news at all. Perhaps this is selfish?

How much of the news is really relevant to our lives anyway? Some random quarky thing happens in Newfoundland. Scientists are doing strange experiments under France and Switzerland, the Taliban are fighting... again. Some things are important to know in order to keep up with what's going on, but since everyone else watches the news I find out about these things soon enough.

So then, in an effort to keep myself away from depressing thoughts and because I can realistically do nothing about 99% of the news, I have decided not to watch it and have not missed it one bit. I do not aspire to becoming an ignoramus or to remain happy in my little oblivious bubble I can give local situations more time and effort, which they deserve.