Nutritionists tell us our diet should be high in fruits and vegetables. Next we should include whole grains and avoid processed foods. Americans – try as we might – do a poor job of denying ourselves anything, let alone the foods we love.
The same may be said for our news intake. Granted, some wisely avoid news and current events. I recently fasted from all news media for 40 days. I found my stress level was reduced and I think I was generally a happier person. When the 40 days were up, I quickly returned to my news junkie ways. Curiosity got the better of me. I have an innate need to know what’s going on – to be “in the loop.”
One of the lessons learned from journalism school is the importance of factoring sources into the information equation. Consider the food parallel further: The more “processed” the product, the more likely it will contain ingredients that don’t have any nutritional value, but merely make the product taste good and have an appealing appearance.
So it is with news information – the lines between entertainment and an objective presentation of the facts have become so blurred, it is hard to find any original information that hasn’t already been spun, skewed, and processed so the facts lend themselves to what we like to consume.
Unfortunately, this bodes poorly for the truth.
No matter what your political persuasion, you owe yourself a balanced diet. Ask yourself, “Do I only listen to news outlets that reinforce what I already believe?” If so – kiss the truth goodbye. Left or right, you have closed the door to understanding original information when consumed from only one source. It is no surprise both extremes of the political spectrum have an innate mistrust of the media – and instruct their followers to exercise that mistrust by listening only to what their “approved” outlets offer as “information.” This tactic is the oldest trick in the propagandist’s playbook. By getting everyone on board with the presumption what everyone else says is wrong, you can begin to spin the most fabulous lies that will be understood as gospel.
How much time do you spend listening to (and by listening I mean actually trying to understand) a perspective that differs from your own? By modifying your news diet to include some “roughage” – points of view you may not like but that provide balance to what you’ve been hearing – you can actually form your own opinion. Make no mistake – nothing is more dangerous to power brokers than people who actually think for themselves. Nothing is more vital to a democracy than a well informed citizenry. The choices we make about our information diet determine whether our mind, like our food, contain all the necessary nutrients for proper function.
No surprise our society has become so dysfunctional. The information diet reflects the natural diet – highly processed junk news that titillates our senses and is designed only for taste not nutrition. Using predetermined conclusions, thought is not necessary. Our opinions have been provided for us.
Do you consider yourself a truth seeker? Someone who resists being spoon fed? Get a balanced diet of information and make your own conclusions. The consequence of a good news diet is the failure to fit neatly into a label. Shock your friends. Become both liberal AND conservative – or neither liberal nor conservative, whichever you prefer. The time has come to elevate the conversation beyond labels and begin actually listening to one another. A balanced diet of information does much to build bridges of mutual respect. The way we treat each other when we disagree reveals the strength or weakness of our relationships.
I confess to the guilty pleasure of tweaking people’s preconceptions about conventional wisdom, no matter whose conventions I may be upsetting. To liberals, I enjoy being a conservative – to conservatives, I become a liberal. I am entertained by challenging the presumptions of others. My children do an amazing job of confronting the presumptions I make about them.
Debate is our family love language. We prefer thoughtful disagreement to blind obedience.
Think of it as intellectual roughage.
