|
IT STARTED OUT innocently enough. I asked
a friend of mine whether he thought the world would be a better
or a worse place 100 years from now. Worse, he said.
We had a little discussion about his answer
and then went on about our business. A few days later, he said
he wanted me to look at a magazine called Colors. Published
in Italy, it illustrated some of our global problems graphically.
For example, on the back cover were two pictures: One was a man
in a polyester jump suit standing on a well-manicured lawn with
a nice house in the background, and he was feeding a tidbit to
his well-groomed poodle.
The other picture was five or six young
boys, dirty and ragged, living in a hole in the street.
The magazine did a good job contrasting
how wealthy many of us are in industrialized countries with how
horribly many people live in developing countries.
Later, my friend asked me how I liked the
magazine.
I replied, It was disturbing.
It's REAL!
he said with a kind of self-righteousness that he's not a person
who is afraid of facing the truth.
And that was the beginning of my crusade
against bad news. What disturbed me was not the reality of it.
I'm well aware of how miserably much of the world lives compared
to how even a poor American lives. What bothered me was that
the "information" in the magazine was delivered in
a context of hopelessness. There wasn't one tiny scrap of any
indication anywhere in the magazine that you, the reader,
can do anything about it. The world is a horrible place,
it seemed to say, and you are helpless to effect it.
If the information had been delivered in
the spirit of Here's some bad news, but here's what you can
do about it, the same information would have been motivating.
But if the reader feels helpless about
it or thinks the situation is hopeless, the magazine did harm,
and the reader would have been better off without it. Studies
have shown that most television news leaves the viewer depressed
because it is primarily bad news that the viewer can do nothing
about. The problems are too big or too far away or too permanent
to be able to effect. This sort of news encourages a pessimistic
view of the world.
Pessimism produces a feeling of helplessness
and hopelessness. In other words, pessimism produces depression.
This is not just an opinion. Lots of research has been done on
this subject. A tremendous amount of evidence exists and it all
points in the same direction. Pessimism makes people less capable
of acting effectively, even in their own best interests. It produces
apathy and lethargy. It makes people give up.
Pessimism is bad for your health, bad for
your relationships, and bad for the planet (because pessimism
not only stops constructive action, but IT IS CONTAGIOUS).
Raw, in-your-face reality is good, but
only halfway there. The other half is what can be done about
it? If nothing can be done about it, why tell anyone? If
something can be done about it, why not give that news
too? It is a crime against humanity to do otherwise.
Because of the shock value and attention-getting
power of tragedy, horror, and cruel irony, a pessimistic, unconstructive
attitude is infecting the minds of more and more people.
It must be stopped. And you can help. Here's
how:
Here's what you can do about it:
Stop tuning into any news that makes
you feel helpless, distrusting, fearful, hopeless, and that doesn't
give you the sense that you can do something about it. If you want to "stay up on the events of
the world," try to find sources that don't create pessimism.
Pick the global problem that most bothers
you and do something about it. If
you think there's nothing you can do, then first cure yourself
of your own pessimism. The resources on this web site can help
you (see links below).
Share this page with people you know.
And if someone emails you some
bad news, tell the person about this page.
If a friend of yours seems pessimistic,
help her or him become more optimistic. Optimism
does not include burying your head in the sand or in the clouds.
It is a balanced look at reality. It is practical and effective.
As I say in the second chapter of Self-Help Stuff That Works:
|
In a study by Lisa Aspinwall,
PhD, at the University of Maryland, subjects read health-related
information on cancer and other topics. She discovered that optimists
spent more time than pessimists reading the severe risk material
and they remembered more of it.
“These are people,”
says Aspinwall, “who aren’t sitting around wishing
things were different. They believe in a better outcome, and
that whatever measures they take will help them to heal.”
In other words, instead of having their heads in the clouds,
optimistic people look. They do more than look, they seek. They
aren’t afraid to look into the situation because they’re
optimistic. |
Optimism will give you the strength to
confront difficult realities with open eyes. Optimism has the
potential to be even more contagious than pessimism. If nothing
else, optimists tend to have more energy. But there is something
else: Optimism is more ethical. It is more life-giving, more
enjoyable. It is more right.
If you would like some information about
becoming optimistic, check out the Attitude section of the book,
Self-Help Stuff That Works.
If you would like some information about
how to help other people become more optimistic, read the People
section of Self-Help Stuff That Works.
Go to the following sites and get the email
addresses of your representatives
and senators
and put them in your address book, and write to them now and
then. Urge them to vote on the bills you feel strongly about.
Let them know what you think. This is an easy way to have an
effect. The important thing is to do something about what you
learn. This prevents you feeling like a helpless victim, which
is the end result of watching or reading mainstream news. Feeling
helpless is bad for your health and impairs your ability to accomplish
in this world.
Learn
more. Take action.
Read some good
news.
If one morning I walked on
top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that
afternoon would read "President Can't Swim".
|
|
