I haven’t watched the news for several days now, and as I sit down to write, I am quite aware that I am feeling extraordinarily peaceful. It’s actually quite amazing – I am quite happy sitting here listening to hits of the 80’s (my own compilation, including ZZ Top, Van Halen, even a little Quarterflash).
At first, I wondered if I was, at heart, a Seinfeld character – an essentially shallow person, being quite happy not knowing what was going on in the world around me. That’s a possibility that I can’t completely rule out, but let’s give me the benefit of the doubt and just set this aside.
Giving it a little more thought – and considering what I learned in my recent sensitivity training on the differences between men and women (when explaining something negative, men tend to look at external factors but when it’s positive, we take credit for it) – I have come to the conclusion that the media itself (and the media-created public stupidity, aka public opinion), makes me angry.
I haven’t even been listening to conservative news/commentators – most of what they do is comment on the stupid things that other people say, anyway, to get us conservative-leaning libertarians upset. Who needs that? I do tend to like Keith Olbermann; even though he leans to the left of me, he has a similar contempt for stupidity, and a gift for sarcastic humor. It’s hard not to like him.
I also started teaching Sunday School with my wife, and sat in on the Children’s Church program that takes place during the sermon. That’s all I am going to say about that.
Overall, I think that minimizing the assault on my reality has had a very positive, and possibly even healthful, effect on me. I have less things that I feel like ranting and railing about, but on the other hand, I really don’t give a rip. Peace will do that for you.
Just look at Sting. Sting used to be this angry young man, producing great music. The Police produced nothing finer than Synchronicity. “Every Breath You Take” is positively creepy. Now, after a happy marriage and years of relaxing with yoga, he’s at peace. The angst of Soul Cages and the anger and the pain are gone. His music has become more and more bland, to the point where I think, “why bother?” Have you heard his rendition of My Funny Valentine? But, he’s peaceful, and he probably doesn’t give a rip either.