Friday, December 16, 2011

Good News Channel

    If you watch TV or listen to news radio you will find that we are inundated with all kinds of  news about the troubling times we live in.  As I have aged I have found that I have lived in troubling times all my life.  If you look up any year and check old newspapers or video from TV broadcasts you will find bad news everywhere. Times today, really are no different for us than for those who lived in past years.   What makes our time seem so troubling is the fact that we have become a global society. With the advent of the internet and the use of the cell phone, we are able to instantly get information from all over the world.  We now have twenty four hour news and information channels.  Even our local stations start broadcasting at 4:a.m. There was a time when newscast only lasted 1/2 hour per night, and that included national and local. The reason these channels are on so much is because of ratings, and higher ratings mean more advertising money.  Because we are the kind of people who like to slow down and look at a car wreck, the news channels fill our screens with as much bad news as they can find.  Even a light dusting of snow falling instantly becomes a major blizzard.
      With the Christmas season upon us, I think it is time to turn off the TV and  radio news channels. We should pull back and look at our own small world.  What can we do to make life for the people close to us
happier. Think of all the things we can share with those we love. Look at all we already have. Instead of watching and worrying about all the bad things going on in the outside world, let us look inside our own small world and see what we can do to make it a better place. It is written somewhere that you can't love until you love yourself first. Charity begins at home .  If we all take the time to make peace and love within our own families and close friends we can use that as a foundation to make a beter place in the outside world.  Then maybe there will be a 24 hour good news channel.