What do a mudslide in western Washington, a Chicago El train
jumping the tracks at O’Hare airport, a
Seattle Times |
In this ever-shrinking world, we are bombarded on all sides
by a 24/7 news cycle that rarely offers good news. A country invaded here, a
few dozen people killed there—tragedies abound and the cacophony of news from
the Internet, television, radio and even our mobile devices leaves us numb and
inured. A news commentator on one of the local stations says we listen, glued to these stories, to reassure ourselves that these things couldn't happen to us.
It’s at times like these that what we really need is perspective. We have
to pick our battles. Not only do we have to choose what information we’re going
to let into our lives, we have to decide how we’re going to let it affect us.
Obviously, we can’t try to help each time the call goes out. We can’t leap to
the rescue of the people of Darrington, Washington, and the families of those slain
by the Taliban at the same time. We donate our time and money when we can. We
offer our condolences and sympathy where it makes sense.
cnn.com |
But most of all, 36 injured in Chicago, or 14 dead in
Washington, or thousands killed or made homeless by civil strife in Syria makes
our own problems trivial by comparison. These events put our own lives in
perspective. I can acknowledge each tragedy that I hear or read about, bow my
head in a moment of silence and prayer for the victims and their families, but
most of all I can feel gratitude for all the blessings I have in my own life.
All too often, we lose sight of what’s important. We let our
priorities become skewed. When we’re more concerned about the announced
break-up of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, or the latest shenanigans of The
Biebster or Lindsay Lohan than we are about the homeless and the hungry, we’ve
lost perhaps the best part of our humanity.
I saw an interesting argument on Facebook recently about
income inequality. The poster’s position basically was that the differences in
pay that a rocket scientist and a Walmart associate isn’t really income
inequality at all, but rather the difference in market value between the two
types of work.
I’m pretty much in agreement with that point of view. Yes,
our capitalist captains of industry make obscene amounts of money to run their
companies, but opportunities exist for anyone, given hard work and a lot of
luck, to work their way up a corporate ladder or start a small business and
turn it into a big one.
Where I have a problem is the value that all of us, even
those of us who decry income inequality, place on different types of work. When
the average Major League Baseball player makes 57 times as much as the average
teacher to stand around in a field in the sun and play a game, what does that
say about our values? The average NBA player makes 90 times as much as the
average teacher in the U.S. Isn’t the education our children get more important
than whether someone from Denver can throw a ball through a hoop more times
than someone from LA or Chicago?
Denver Post |
Ultimately, it comes down to perspective. Life can be
incredibly random and unfair. No matter how hard we try we can’t legislate
fairness or impose it on a population. There will always be mudslides and religious
fanatics and tragic accidents like train derailments and airline crashes.
In part, I think that’s why many of us write thrillers. In
our small way, we can impose order on chaos, turn the tragedy of murder into
justice. It’s how we maintain our perspective.
How do you maintain your perspective in the face of an
unending stream of bad news? Where do you find both solace and strength?
Michael W. Sherer is
the author of Night Tide, the second novel in the Blake Sanders
thriller series. The first in the Seattle-based series, Night Blind, was nominated for an ITW Thriller Award in 2013. His other books
include the award-winning Emerson Ward mystery series, the stand-alone suspense
novel, Island Life, and the Tess Barrett YA thriller series.
He and his family now
reside in the Seattle area. Please visit him at www.michaelwsherer.com or you
can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thrillerauthor and on Twitter
@MysteryNovelist.
The news has been hard to take lately, and it's challenging to keep from feeling helpless and depressed. To keep moving forward, I write checks to the Red Cross and practice gratitude. As for inequality, I founded Housing Help to do a small part in assisting low-wage earners, and I donate to groups and candidates that are trying to overturn the Citizens United case. That would be a huge first step.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Michael.
ReplyDeleteWhile contributing to charitable organizations is important—both in terms of money and time—it's still only a tiny bandaid over what could be an overwhelming wound of tragedy. The pain in the world could easily consume us if we let it.
I think you're exactly right. We right about horrendous events to create a satisfying ending not likely to happen in real life.
One thing I've done from time to time is to take a break from the news. I have no control over what's happening and yet I feel the burden. Taking a break allows me to focus on my life and all of the things I'm grateful for... and more easily identify those things I can facilitate change within if necessary.
Agree Michael. When faced with a daily deluge of the terrible things happening in the world, it's very hard not to feel overwhelmed and, like L.J. says, helpless when confronted with so much tragedy. I completely get the gratitude feeling. Events like the ones you've mentioned (and countless others) force me to put my own problems into perspective and make me count all my blessings.
ReplyDeleteAs to your questions, I remind myself that what I do, as a writer and as a doctor, IS important and will leave permanent, positive marks on this world, be it by the pleasure I bring to my readers or the lives I have made better or saved.
The thing about the news is that they always highlight the bad. We rarely get to hear about the millions of good things, however great or small, that happen in the world every day.