Today as I passed a newsagent I glanced at the headlines on the various papers on display. We had street crime and knife attacks, people frightened to leave the house. Hurricane Dean raging through Jamaica heading for Mexico. A plane burning on the runway in Japan. Our soldiers waiting for the government to find a way out of Iraq. More warnings about global warming, and stories about murders, kidnappings and anarchy on the streets.
If I landed from another planet I don't think I would even open my suitcase I would head straight home. I don't buy newspapers because it seems only doom and gloom sells, but what about all the positive news.
Is our planet out of control? or is it media hype? Thom Hartman wrote a brilliant book " The last hours of ancient sunlight" he proposes that the only lasting solution to the crises we face is to re-learn the lessons our ancient ancestors knew- those which allowed them to live sustainably for hundreds of thousands of years- but which we've forgotten.
Reading this book may change the way you view the world and the influence of the media, and may provide surprising answers to how our world operates.
To celebrate the first month of the truepotential blog we will send a copy free to the best comment received by 20/9/07.
7 comments:
Sometimes I think the media create our reality, and that it can portray it as a dark place, however it is up to us to be positive and create the change. To change something the place to start is with yourself.
The 'reality' of our world as portrayed by the media is almost certainly a false one; heavily biased by their macabre fascination with "doom and gloom". I fear however, that this is a characteristic that underpins part of the human condition. For example, it's like driving past a car accident on the motorway and just 'needing' to look; everyone does it, but the reason why is not so easy to identify. I doubt that many people actually enjoy seeing horrific vehicle collisions but there is a certain morbid intrigue that forces us to take interest. The answer, I think, is in the effect that such imagery has on us; it's shocking, frightening, or even repellent, but it reminds us of our own mortality and vulnerability. We are not invincible, but each of us lives in a cotton wool padded microcosm, safe (most of the time) from the dangers of the natural world. We have engineered our existence in order to remove ourselves from the natural order of things; away from predators and the relentless hardships that our ancient ancestors must have experienced (and feared) on a day-to-day basis. Is it possible that, every now and again, we need to be reminded of our fragility in order to feel alive? The media however, take advantage of this aspect of human psychological hard-wiring and overload us with negative imagery in order to saturate our world with fear. The truth is, people who are perpetually terrified are easier to control.
In closing, Chris has a very good point. The best way to change something is to change yourself. Don't allow yourself to be taken in by the 'media hype'. Remember that life is a mosaic of events - both good and bad - and that contingency is the rule, not the exception.
We've oftem been told that "good news" doesn't sell. So, if that's the case, why is the cute "human interest" story at the end of the news always the most popular.
I'd like to see a newspaper that publishes only good news. Who's going to be brave enough to start that going?
There is a newspaper that only prints positive news www.positivenews.org.uk you can subscribe on the website, its an uplifting read. I will post a link on the blog.
There's also the Only Positive News blog; not really a newspaper, but along those lines I suppose.
Thats a good site Sam, I will add a link. Positivity is spreading already.
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