I am not an avid newspaper reader. In fact, I rarely read it. I'll read almost anything else, but not the paper. So what in the world provoked me to pick it up this past Saturday? That, I do not know. What I do know though, is picking up and reading the paper on Saturday only reaffirmed my beliefs.
As I flipped through the paper Saturday morning, still drowsy with sleep, I was confronted with headline after headline, photo after photo, article after article, of absolutely horrible things. There was of course, stories of our economy and our governments' inability to help. But then there was the article of Haiti. Do you know what's going on there? I am ashamed to say I had absolutely no idea. Apparently, Haiti is buried in mud. Yes, buried in mud. All the natural disasters that have hit them, mainly hurricanes, have turned the land and soil into mud, which, in effect, has left the people of Haiti scrounging for food. The UN is trying to raise money--about $54 Million--and has only raised $1 million so far.
There was coverage f the Presidential debates, which, while not outrightly bad, is when thought about. The debates only highlight what is wrong with our country--economy, healthcare, taxes, etc. Actually, there's about three or four articles covering the debates, most of them taking up at least one page.
So there's the U.S. economy, Haiti (which, btw, only takes up a corner of one page), a pregnant woman stabbed by an ex, who also shot and killed her boyfriend, and loads of other stories like those. All bad, sad stories. All stories that make you feel like shit, either because you feel helpless, as is the case with Haiti, or because it is just so awful. Either way, you end up feeling like shit.
As I'm flipping through the rest of the paper, I'm searching for some article that gives me good news. Something. Even an iota. Unfortunately, I did not find it. What I did find though, was the Obituaries. At first I thought, "Great. More bad news." Then I started thinking, in my hazy morning fog of thought, maybe, just maybe, this was was my good news that I was scouring the paper for. Now, I know how awful that sounds. People have died, and I am sitting there thinking that it's good news. I'm a horrible person. I know. But think about it: These people are dead. They no longer have to witness what the world has become. They no longer have to read the horrible, sad stories that I had just read, and tons more like them that will be printed in the future. They no longer have to see the suffering, the mess, that we and others have created and they no longer have to feel awful for not being able to do more. (I'm not going to go into how they might still be able to see, and feel the pain of the world, because that's not really what the post is about.)
So why in the world did I pick up the paper and read it? Or better yet, why did I continue to read it? I still cannot answer that. What I do know though, is that reading Saturday's paper just reaffirmed my desire, my need, to not read.
2 comments:
I read the newspaper all week long while riding the subway to and from work, and while I look forward more to the Style section than I do to International Report, I read most of it because it makes me feel like an educated person, to be aware of what's happening in my country and my world.
Some of it--a lot of it, sometimes--is depressing and scary, but that's life. And I think one of the most amazing things about people, and society, is that we continue to live and to have the will to live, to build lives and try to be happy, even in the face of what would seem insurmountable odds. There's a funny sort of inspiration to be taken from waking up in a dim, gray world with bad news splashed everywhere, and seeing all the people taking the subway, going to work, living their lives, because, hopefully, at the end of the day, this is better than the alternative, and we can be happy, even when the headlines aren't.
Hey! I totally know what you are talking about. I read the paper everyday and everyday I ask myself why I read the newspaper because it is so depressing. The same is true with watching the news. I used to watch it occasionally and now I don't because it makes me so upset. It is kind of sad though how some people have become so used to hearing and reading about all of this sad news that it becomes so normal. If we opened the paper and found only good and positive things that would seem weird. It would be amazing if that could happen though! Maybe that's why the comics are always after the main news sections. That way you get through all the crappy stuff and then you can read the comics, laugh, and make yourself feel better.
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