News is everywhere, and its sole purpose today seems to encourage divisiveness rather than unity.
Today’s societal climate is a raging sea of confusion, judgment, adversity and animosity. The information being reported – both accurately and inaccurately – is extremely impactful as we go about our daily lives, none of which are spared involvement in one way or another.
The era of definitive and esteemed experts has been replaced by the internet’s unending stream of information. It often lacks credibility and statistical proof yet remains revered by those who cannot discern between what’s factual and what’s propaganda.
This unending internet stream allows individuals to find the information which best supports their feelings, claims, views, decisions and biases – maintaining ignorance rather than challenging their own beliefs and trying to look at things from a different point of view.
As I said above, news is everywhere, but that doesn’t mean we know where to find it.
There is so much we should be discussing. So many conversations we should be having among our peers, our friends and our families about serious issues which plague everyone in society. Yet in today’s era of divisive information, it’s difficult.
That leads me to this point which I’m beginning to subscribe to. “Silence is sometimes the best answer.” (Dalai Lama XIV)
Yes, I’m fully aware that silence doesn’t solve anything and that the prevailing force with the loudest chants will undoubtedly rise victorious.
But we also can’t be blind to the reality that individuals will find the information which best supports their feelings, claims, views, decisions and biases. Armed with that kind of ammunition it makes a constructive conversation impossible and even destructive at times.
I wish I could entertain the possibility of discussing a wide range of topics on this blog and with others I’m acquainted with, but I can’t.
The sad reality is that far too many of us are more concerned with proving our feelings, claims, views, decisions and biases are right instead of looking at things from a different point of view. Engaging in conversations which impart clarity and secure open-mindedness in shared ideas and facts.
News is everywhere, there’s no use arguing that point. But as American poet Emily Dickinson once wrote, “Saying nothing sometimes says the most.”
