The world is screwed. There is no hope. Just check any news station, pick up a paper, or turn on the radio. A thousand talking heads are delivering this message with countless stories and statistics to prove their claims. CNN and Fox News manage to squeeze at least two or three different story lines into one frame complete with scrolling text, vivid colors, and personalities of varying genders decked out in high fashion. Selling doom and gloom is big business, and business is exploding (literally, in some cases). I find myself as mesmerized by the elaborate spectacles presented on television and the interwebs as children watching their favorite cartoons. In fact, these shows remind me of commercials aimed at children. You know, the ones where the volume jumps up a few notches and mega tsunamis of stimuli engulf and overwhelm the eyes, ears, and brains of their tiny viewers (targets)? I run on a treadmill at the gym and see a roomful of adults stare at these screens with the same wide-eyed expressions and wonder just how much we’re all influenced, consciously or unconsciously, by this sensationalism. One thing is certain–most people I know will adamantly agree that the world is more or less broken on a fundamental level.
There is, however, one fatal flaw in this logic–everyday I encounter wonderful people doing kind things for each other. Go figure. I would say the amount of time I spend with interesting, dynamic human beings or in peaceful solitude is nearly proportional to the amount of time the aforementioned media outlets dedicate to the dissemination of fear and, by extension, mass control of the public’s thoughts and emotions. How can there be such a discrepancy? I have come to the conclusion that the world with which I interact on a daily basis, my direct experience, is more distinctly and intuitively real than what I read or hear reported to me by someone situated in a faraway studio, attempting to further their agenda. Today I choose to believe in the inherent goodness of people, especially those willing to live in the moment and engage with me on an intelligent and rational basis. Toxic emotions are cheap and all-too-renewable. I have no time for them, for there is too much work to be done. ‘Til next time, I bid you adieu. Don’t believe the hype!
Peace,
Christopher