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Serious question here that I have long wondered about.
Consider the carnage and loss of life in the Iraq War, a totally preventable war started by the United States (this is not a thread to argue the necessity of fighting in Iraq)
But when reports of all the death and destruction aired on the nightly news, when I saw stories of beautiful young soldiers with a bright future ahead of them coming home in flag draped coffins I found myself becoming incredibly sad and depressed over this, and I also found myself quite angry at the peculiar pathology of those who sent them into harms way and seemed to have not a care in the world in regards to the consequences of a war that they started.
But the crux of my question really lies amongst the people who were not involved in creating the problem in the first place, but rather remained completely oblivious to what was happening. I knew so many people like this, and I knew they were oblivious because I might question them innocently about some major new event in Iraq and they knew nothing about it. I also saw this after 9/11, which they viewed as a one time event and a tragedy and forgot about it and all the innocent people killed the very next day and got on with their lives as normal, as if nothing happened September 11th.
Since myself and all these other people were powerless to alter the terrible affects of the killing in Iraq or the deaths on September 11th, isn't remaining oblivious better for your mental and physical health, rather than brooding over something out of your control? I've always been fascinated by international events and wars in particular and have studied them since I was in grade school. I'm also far less happy (but not less outgoing) than most of my peers. And since I can do little to nothing to change the outcome of what world governments and terrorists will do, what's in it for me if knowing what is happening is only going to lead to depression in the end?
I hate being uninformed, but I also hate feeling powerless to change events out of my control that upset me. Should I just start tuning out?
You have to choose your battles. I don't think there is such a thing as ignorant people but more likely, people who are ignorant about certain things. You have to decide what is important to you and what the most is that you can do and with political issues, you can vote, contact your congress people and maybe protest or form groups. You have to realize that you can only do the best that you can do in your situation about anything. We shut the cable off years ago and the only news I see on the internet is what comes to my email box from the Congress people or what I might see here on City-Data. That is much better than sitting there with the news pouring in and arguing with the TV newsman like my dad did when I was a kid. I do what I can and ignorance of the things I cannot do squat to change is blissful. I have fought a lot of battles and wasted my time and energy. Life is too short.
there are a 100 reasons a day to be saddened and in turmoil....
i think all of us have a sphere of friends and family,,and its a constant drumbeat...someone is sick, this person got hurt, this person is divorcing,,,this person died,,and the beat goes on..
the news...the most evil flow of communications in the history of man,,,is 24/7 and 99.9 % is bad news,,,,,
if we dont get distant and desensitized,,,,we would be saddened and physically ill if we allowed it,,
its not that we dont care,,,its the constant beat....
many of us say,,,,we have enough stress with bs at work,,with juggling kids, finances ,etc, we dont need to marinate in misery and watch the news.....do we want to be depressed ALL the time??
my woman knows a ton a people, and theirs always a crisis,,,and finally i had to say ,,i dont want to hear the bad news anymore,,,it just piles and piles.. like a big pile of heavy shyt
got the bubbleheaded bleach-blonde, comes on at 5, she can tell you about the planecrash with a gleam in her eye,,,
its interesting when people die,,give us dirty laundry...
the pounding of the drums, the pride and disgrace, you can bury your dead, but dont leave a trace......and you tell meeeee over and over again,,,dont you know, we're on the eve of destruction
I know very little about many things...I am very happy.
I think happier than if I knew these terrible, seemingly unfair things,
that I know nothing about.
I believe they are happier simply because it's difficult to stay informed and not feel powerless, as you mentioned.
I can tell you the EXACT day that I stopped watching the news. It was when Susan Smith went on television and tearfully claimed that someone carjacked her vehicle with her babies inside. I know that a carjacker wouldn't be interested in taking care of children and hoped that "he" would leave them somewhere unharmed. I also knew that kidnappers don't take random children from the middle of the road. I just wanted her children to be found, safe. I came home from work that day and heard the news that she had killed her children and the "boogey monster" was a fabrication. I have not watched any news program since that time.
My "reasoning" is that I will hear about anything MAJOR and the minor stuff just wears me down. I enjoy advocating for others and helping out in other ways and I can't do that if I'm upset/stressed about the horrible news being thrown in our faces constantly. It's just too much. I always found it odd how we are expected to be happy and show no negative emotions when so much garbage is being thrown at us from all directions. It's strange that we are told to drug ourselves to prevent having NORMAL responses to stress/life events. Why? A person who isn't upset or annoyed or frustrated by life's blows is the one not responding appropriately. Nevertheless, for me, the best way solution is to avoid as much of the news as I can and continue to help out my neighbors, communities and loved ones as best I can.
I find that I'm happier overall when I'm not drowning myself in news. I love reading the newspaper, and like watching the local news/nightly news, as it gives me things to talk and think about. Unfortunately, it also forces me to see new lows within humanity at least weekly, and this is why I take prolonged breaks from it.
I don't think ignorant people are happier, they may be more likely to let completely trivial things (to you and I) bother them immensely.
I stand by my belief that those whom have the least weight on their minds (responsibilities, least worries about maintaining their four walls, etc.) have the most potential to be blissful.
I don't think "not knowing" makes you happier, I think it just makes you less knowledgeable. Just be prepared to deal with all the good and bad that having more knowledge entails.
Turn down the volume some and watch the news less. That's my advice. I used to be more of a news junkie since I was in elementary school, but times have changed and so have I. I now "watch the news" about once or twice a week, usually by listening to the radio or reading some headlines on the web. The daily bombardment of news whether local, or national is negative, draining and disappointing in most cases. It is simply information overload. I would rather focus my energies on things positive. I have become more burned out from hearing about all the "bad things" going on in the world.
I don't know if "ignorant" people are happier, I cannot answer that for others. I think it depends on the individual person. I just know that minimizing the news in my life cuts out a lot of negativity and I feel better from it. I do meet a lot of people who are not "informed" about current events, but I don't usually see a connection if these people are "happier" that way or not.
...I hate being uninformed, but I also hate feeling powerless to change events out of my control that upset me. Should I just start tuning out?
If you are young, do try to change things and also encourage your friends to do so as well. Then give up later. (If no one ever screams and yells at those in control of things, who knows how far they would go?)
So far as wars go, something even worse is reading the now declassified information about the Vietnam war and what those in charge were doing at the time. I've told some friends about these terrible things only on the condition they never discuss them with anyone who served in Vietnam or anyone who had someone close to them die in that war. Some people have PTSD and some of this stuff could set them off like a firecracker.
Anyway someone needs to read and learn about the terrible things our (and other) leaders do from time to time. Every once and awhile an Eleanor Roosevelt will come along and make things right...
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