It’s striking how many people seem really angry in the United States. I think they watch too much TV.
When you see a story repeated over and over for which there is a very difficult solution that will take at least three years to implement, most people don’t want to hear the details and work on getting it done. Instead they get angry.
They listen to the talking head prognosticate and predict, point fingers and assess blame. Venomous viewers do the same. “What the heck is wrong with that guy? When is he going to do something? He’s stealing our taxpayer dollars? She lied! He’s a thief.” And on and on.
There is a HUGE problem when it comes to the number of people watching news on television, listening to repetitive blather. When nothing is going on, the clips get repeated. Changing the station, you see similar video partnered with a different face.
Once news is reported, what is left? Opinions, looking back, and seeing what the future holds. Hence, if you know what’s going on in your neighborhood, city, state or country, you have all the news you need, but because the television must keep you on their station, they hurl insults, pick everything apart and pretend they are the experts. Then, as the viewer buys in, he or she starts to think she is just as informed, and should also complain and assess blame.
And here we are today, America. Yelling, screaming, coming home from work angry, slapping the dinner table, because we think something can be simply changed, when most often that is not the case.
Change is hard and takes time, whether it’s at the personal level (lose some weight), marital (resolve a difference when both parties feel they have the perfect position) or at work (make a decision that everyone supports and acts on, without attacking the leader). We don’t respect the experts hard at work in industry and government solving long-term systemic problems.
Having recently moved to Wisconsin from Texas, I’ve spent the past five weeks with the TV almost entirely off. I feel much more relaxed. There are several reasons for this, but one is that I’m not watching television news. Quite frankly, I don’t care. I have a job to do. I work out first thing in the morning, go to work, handle everything I can for the day, come home, read a book and go to bed.
I pay attention to my surroundings, focusing on building personal relationships and getting to better know the area. I listen, pay attention, ask questions, drive to customers, look at things first-hand. You learn face-to-face that way about many things. You’re not getting recycled information.
And I’m not listening to “news” people dissecting what someone in the public arena said or did yesterday. There is no “presuming” what someone did, or arguing about what was right or wrong, or whose opinion matters more.
Last week, I spoke about this with a coworker. He mentioned how he’d gotten his grandmother to stop watching the TV news. Suddenly she wasn’t so angry any more. She had time for more things. She didn’t worry as much. She relaxed.
It’s a pretty simple equation. When you listen to screaming heads over and over, you start to assimilate screaming into your repertoire. When you hear angry voices a lot, you start to get angry, too.
So eliminate the source. You’ll feel better. You’ll reconnect with what’s important, like living your life to its fullest, reading some quality books, enjoying truly engaged and significant conversation. Lower those frustrations.
When you see a story repeated over and over for which there is a very difficult solution that will take at least three years to implement, most people don’t want to hear the details and work on getting it done. Instead they get angry.
They listen to the talking head prognosticate and predict, point fingers and assess blame. Venomous viewers do the same. “What the heck is wrong with that guy? When is he going to do something? He’s stealing our taxpayer dollars? She lied! He’s a thief.” And on and on.
There is a HUGE problem when it comes to the number of people watching news on television, listening to repetitive blather. When nothing is going on, the clips get repeated. Changing the station, you see similar video partnered with a different face.
Once news is reported, what is left? Opinions, looking back, and seeing what the future holds. Hence, if you know what’s going on in your neighborhood, city, state or country, you have all the news you need, but because the television must keep you on their station, they hurl insults, pick everything apart and pretend they are the experts. Then, as the viewer buys in, he or she starts to think she is just as informed, and should also complain and assess blame.
And here we are today, America. Yelling, screaming, coming home from work angry, slapping the dinner table, because we think something can be simply changed, when most often that is not the case.
Change is hard and takes time, whether it’s at the personal level (lose some weight), marital (resolve a difference when both parties feel they have the perfect position) or at work (make a decision that everyone supports and acts on, without attacking the leader). We don’t respect the experts hard at work in industry and government solving long-term systemic problems.
Having recently moved to Wisconsin from Texas, I’ve spent the past five weeks with the TV almost entirely off. I feel much more relaxed. There are several reasons for this, but one is that I’m not watching television news. Quite frankly, I don’t care. I have a job to do. I work out first thing in the morning, go to work, handle everything I can for the day, come home, read a book and go to bed.
I pay attention to my surroundings, focusing on building personal relationships and getting to better know the area. I listen, pay attention, ask questions, drive to customers, look at things first-hand. You learn face-to-face that way about many things. You’re not getting recycled information.
And I’m not listening to “news” people dissecting what someone in the public arena said or did yesterday. There is no “presuming” what someone did, or arguing about what was right or wrong, or whose opinion matters more.
Last week, I spoke about this with a coworker. He mentioned how he’d gotten his grandmother to stop watching the TV news. Suddenly she wasn’t so angry any more. She had time for more things. She didn’t worry as much. She relaxed.
It’s a pretty simple equation. When you listen to screaming heads over and over, you start to assimilate screaming into your repertoire. When you hear angry voices a lot, you start to get angry, too.
So eliminate the source. You’ll feel better. You’ll reconnect with what’s important, like living your life to its fullest, reading some quality books, enjoying truly engaged and significant conversation. Lower those frustrations.