I was reading the December 4th Newsweek today at lunch, and I got pretty discouraged.
Besides facing so many problems at work that seem incurable, the world situation is pretty bad. (Maybe that’s just the sells-more-copies spin the press puts on things.)
As I skim the articles on an evil leader in Iraq, I hear the Muslim call to prayer out my window. (Basically, the extremists seem to be affecting governmental policy more than majority moderates.) Reading about how so many freedoms are curtailed in Muslim states, it does not create a strong feeling of openness and good will in me.
China has economic policies that discourage western development and investment in China. It seems to be the old song of, "We should be able to do what we like over in your country, but you can’t do what you like in ours."
The only three countries in the world that will not have positive economic growth this year are in Africa.
But somehow God has a plan.
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On weekend mornings, I brew enough for Heather and me. On weekday mornings, I only brew enough for me. (Heather gets her caffeine via tea, d...
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Today I have a guest photographer - Josh Cadd. He and his family moved to Nairobi about six months ago. Part of getting settled meant buying...
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This old petrol (gas) station is close to Voi, the closest town to the main entrance to Tsavo National Park. Tsavo is even bigger than some ...
2 comments:
Don't you know that if you read media controlled by one political party when the other is in power that all the news is bad? Only 3 countries are not forecast to have positive economic growth? wow, that is really great news.
For example, your comment about china seems to ignore the fact that millions (and millions) of chinese have many more choices for their lives then they did just 10 years ago. Barriers to that market have fallen dramatically in that time. Yes, there is still a long ways to go. Yes, they have to stand up for better working conditions and pollution standards. But almost all countries (including all western countries) encountered these problems as they became industrialized. The good thing is that they can learn from our previous mistakes and make changes faster than we did. (Of course there are those who might argue that anything "western" would be a bad thing anyhow - who is to say that our materialistic ways are better than theirs?).
Try reading different viewpoints if you are getting depressed by the reporting you are reading. For example, the Wall Street Journal is incredibly pragmatic, in-depth, respected and often has a different view from other mainstream media. There are lots of others - the main point being that reading different viewpoints, from all spectrums, gives us a much more-rounded view of any situation. Our mainstream media today depend on sound-bites that elicit an emotional response. To them, the feelings that you have are more important than the facts they present.
Our attention span has become as shallow as their coverage.
Sorry to go on so long.
Mark
Thanks Mark! A good reminder for me to consider the source.
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