How to be Aware of What Is Going on in the World: The Development of a Positive Worldview

Upon occasion I would comment to congregations I served that if they really wanted a better understanding of the world that we live in they should stop watching TV News, quit reading newspapers and magazines and spend more time reading the Bible. I still believe that.

I sure we all know news junkies and may even be one ourselves. We just have to watch morning, noon, and evening news shows. We will watch prime time news programs with devotion. We may have favorite stations that we think report the news better than others, or at least what we want to hear more. We think this makes us informed citizens and wise. If your TV is tuned to CNN all day you are a news junkie.

Moderates and liberals may shake their heads at those who watch FOX or listen to shock radio stations and shake their heads in bewilderment seeing those stations as mere radical commentary based upon ideology rather than facts. Conservatives will complain about the liberal media and condemn but still watch it.

But I’m not sure the rest of us are much different. I’ve mentioned before in our household we watch ABC news in the morning and evening. But they have more entertainment value that news value.

My own particular bias is there are only three news programs worth watching. They are: This Week with George Stephanopoulos (ABC), Bill Moyers and Company on PBS, and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I would also toss in anything written by Robert Reich. Yeah, the Daily Show is a comedy program but it is amazing how many folk trust it’s reporting over traditional news; I think that is for a good reason. The Pew Research Center released a poll that found that 21% of folk between the ages of 18 and 29 as the place where they learned about presidential campaign news. That was a few years ago, but may remain true in views of trustworthy news.

  

 

I have long lamented that this country has been seized by big money, which has taken control of Congress and has turned us into an Oligarchy, government by the wealthy. Now take a look at the news. Who owns them? Mega wealthy corporations who believe in news for profit own them. Thus they primarily report bad news rather than good or even fact based news because it sells better. They also reflect the mindsets of their owners. We like that stuff. It also warps our opinion of the world and leads us into apathy and lethargy.

The world as reported through these so-called news agencies makes the world seem so bad and the problems so immense they we just throw our hands up and despair and feel there is nothing we can do about it.

Our news is negatively biased and the result in public negativity and a warped understanding of the world in which we live. Again I would suggest that to gain a better perspective of the world that we watch and read a small amounts of news and spend much more time reading scriptures; the Q’uran, Bhagavad Gita, the Bible, the Kojiki, the Teachings of Buddha, the Tao of Pooh or whatever. Also read poetry and look at art.

I think it would be good for folk to set aside the time we spend watching or reading news, or at least an equal amount of time reading those things mentioned above. I believe that if you do, you will have a much more realistic concept of the world and a much more positive outlook on life. In essence we are what we read. So, if you read a lot of negative garbage, you are likely to believe in a lot of negative garbage. If you read that which uplifts the human spirit it will be uplifted.

I also believe with this type of reading regime we also will become much better citizens. If we spend time reflecting on great literature, and great religions and great art, we are likely to become much more reflective and thoughtful about the world. I are more likely to gain a perspective on who we are and our place in that world.

Just think of groups of people doing this and then when they gather together instead of just putting on the TV  and watching the latest game, they spent time in sharing ideas and thoughts they have discovered. They would not have to debate or defend such thoughts just share them and learn from each other and appreciate each others experiences and gain a better sense of community.

Communities such as these they would become more empowered to work together for things that promote the common good; little things and big things. It has happened before, it is also going on right now and it is this type of community that I believe may enable us to recapture democracy and the American and even a worldview of positivity.