News

I am a bit of a news junkie - I have several news sites bookmarked on my browser and I check in frequently.  For those who follow my FB you will see I posted a comment from a Vancouver Sun article today about what your car colour says about you.  Mine says I am calm and collected which just proves the article is a heap of hooey.  I have wondered for the rest of today why that stupid article caught my eye when I saw so many other much more newsworthy stories and headlines that I did not click on? 

I have wondered if I have allowed myself to become immune to the "suffering" headlines or if I have innoculated myself against them because they make me feel so overwhelmed and powerless?  I tend to obsess about a story, especially a "human interest" story - its the social worker in me I think...... I follow links, I try to find out more. 

We drove past by a bad car wreck on the I5 in Oregon last summer on a clear, sunny morning.  I trolled their local papers when I got home to find details.  A Mom got distracted, hit the gravel edge of the highway, over-corrected and rolled the car. She died , her 9 year old son in the backseat survived.  Why did I need to know the details? I almost did a degree in Journalism so maybe its the fact finder in me.  Or maybe that social work degree makes me want to know what happened. Or maybe I am a nosy parker. Or maybe I needed the emotional closure. Maybe I need a therapist....... ha ha ha...... I don't mean to overstate this but I do think about it.

The whole revolution in North Africa is a very fascinating story, one that really resonates with me but my North African socio-politcal knowledge is woeful and I know CNN is giving me a slanted view and I frankly don't have the time or energy to study up on it all so I tend bypass all but the headlines.

And then there are the headlines you get from FB - all my friends and family in Australia and New Zealand are "talking" about the earthquake in Christchurch.  I am so saddened to hear that beautiful cathedral is so badly damaged - I have stood in it - hard to believe....... So this one will tug at my heart because I have been there, I know people there.

So news is really what you allow past your own filters, what you choose to take on and take in as your own life allows. 

I am guessing I had a filter malfunction when I read the "news" about car colour and personality.