Should we avoid the news?

Everyday I go on Facebook and talk to friends an family who live far away. I even play a few games and check out the latest news.

But the news just seems to be full of hate in some form. I have a tendency to put myself in other peoples shoes and it can cause me to get quite emotional I guess you could say and take things personally.

So should the news be avoided? The second teaching is "Jedi maintain a clear mind; which can be achieved through meditation and contemplation. Our minds can become unduly troubled and concerned with the happenings of the world. We must work on overcoming our individual issues through training and diligence." Is that something we learn from avoiding it altogether? Or from learning to accept it and not let it effect you but by still having contact with it?

While there is a lot of troubling news out there, I certainly wouldn't agree that one should completely avoid it. As Jedi, we have a responsibility to take action for the good of the whole and to be aware of our surroundings. If we avoid the uncomfortable truths and the existences of lies and misrepresentation, we cannot be counted upon when the world needs our help.

The constant onslaught of bad news can be very stressful though, and this I definitely get. When I read these things, I often take them with a grain of salt and Snope it, or catalog the bare, verifiable facts in my mind so I can turn them over in my head and consider what could be done to combat these negative, hateful things. To be honest, I find the news far less discouraging than the people reporting and reacting to it. Meditation always helps, and tuning out for a few hours a day to seek some personal calm and happiness can be a very healing thing to do. I would also suggest doing something to be proactive in your own community; I feel much better about the world when I do things like donate to a hospital, encourage a child to read, or help a stranger complete a task they're struggling with alone, because it's my way of proving to myself and others that there are good people in this world working toward a positive goal despite the odds.

I think the news is actually an interesting way to test your objectivity, observation and the ability to look beyond the obvious. I like to read the news and then explore things like who is reporting it, who are they paid by, whats their agenda, whats the emotional manipulation, whats behind what they are reporting, and of course, whats are the "facts" rather than the reported truths.

Then flip it around.... whats my instinctive reaction, what biases am I responding with, what does my reaction say about me.



...... Maybe I need a hobby :woohoo:

Brenna wrote: ...... Maybe I need a hobby :woohoo:

Lol.. Almost choked on my coffee. Your not alone there.

the news is quite prejudiced, media bias is a big thing. journalists commonly coerce their opinions, and are quite unethical with the means of evidence and conclusions drawn. treat the media as merely suggestions since hardly anyone will report objectively and allow people to make up their own judgment.

if we didn't see something with our own eyes, or do something ourselves, we should avoid spreading with our mouths what we hear

Interesting question. It does show us realities beyond our own, but I think there is a real difference in knowing about it and experiencing an empathetic reaction. So on one hand our exposure to news is shaped by what is being delivered/presented which means we have to remember its partial (at best), but on the other hand your level of connection could probably be controlled by yourself to some extent. I don't mean to suggest becoming numb to it, but rather perhaps understanding your reaction and assessing it's relevance on a case by case basis in light of those two realities. Ya don't want to be a slave to your emotions I guess, but sometimes feelings can inform with valuable insight.

I think the news isn't to be avoided but i do watch it sparingly. its good to know what is happening in the world.

I think to hide from the news is a form of fear. Its is fear that it will impact us negatively and thus we run. This is action out of fear which in my opinion is deviation from the path of the Jedi. A better course of action would to be to examine WHY it upsets us or angers us. To look within ourselves for why we let such information take control of our emotional balance.

Once we answer that its possible that we can read the news for relevant information without letting the bias of the author or station impact us. To gain from the knowledge offered while rejecting the bad. That is in my mind the hard but more honest of options when dealing with an information source that upsets you.

I listen to, read, view news from several sources and try to include opposing views and opinion so I have a broad base to form my opinions. Now having said that I will occasionally go days without tuning in just to give my brain and emotions a chance to reset cuse there is so much crap out there. I try to be careful with the care and feeding of my brain.

Our doctrine speaks first and foremost of three central tenets: Focus, Knowledge and Wisdom.

We can come to wisdom by applying our focus to the wide variety (and quality) of knowledge presented in the news. For me, the relevant section of our doctrine which describes this process is this:

Honesty: To avoid lies.

A Jedi is honest with themselves and seeks to always go beyond appearances. There can be no honest self without the knowledge and wisdom to see truth.

In order to know what's going on in the world, Jedi must remain connected. Jedi have the courage to see the world as it is, in truth, warts and all. But as others have said, to gain the wisdom of the truth within the editorialising and sensationalism is the job of your focus. There is no such thing as independent reporting, but then, there is no such thing as an independent observer either. We each have our particular biases.

If there is hate and it bothers you, do something about it! no good will come of just turning your back, while others continue to participate.