Watch More Commercials
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When we turn on the TV, why is it that we complain
about commercials, but
we feel lef tout if we miss the news? We tell
ourselves that commercials
are so ridiculous and silly that we shouldn't have to
see them multiple
times every show. But yet we have this need to watch
the news even though
the stories are mostly bad. We feel we miss so much if
we don't see the
top stories, if we don't know what's going on. Recently a friend from Opportunity Village told me why history is important: "I have a few things that I want to tell you of what I remember of what happened in the past... In January of 1986 the Challenger exploded 80 seconds after lift off killing all of the crew. This was the first time a teacher was going up in space and she was killed. In 1993 we had the terrible flood in Des Moines and Ames and all along the Mississippi River. It affected many, many, many people. On September 11, of the year 2001 there were 4 planes high jacked 2 crashed into the world trade buildings. One crashed into the Pentagon, and one crashed in Penn. In February the space shuttle blew up entering the earth's atmosphere. Johnny Cash and John Ritter died just recently. It's too bad we remember all the tragedies and not the good times." Choyce says in his book Nova Scotia: Shaped By The Sea, "...the Halifax Explosion...1917. The Mont Blanc...loaded with explosive cargo...200 tons of TNT... ...the Imo...ramming into the bow of the Mont Blanc. ...single largest man-made explosion...until...Hiroshima atom bomb. ...momentarily swept clean to the bottom of the harbour, making the...floor visible." We seem to remember things like that. What we don't remember are things like this that Choyce also describes in his book: "...1892... ...first man to sail around the world alone... ...Joshua Slocum... ...had never learned to swim." Watch less news and watch more commercials. Go out and make a friend, help someone. The commercials will help you laugh more and that's good news. If you miss the 6:00 news, don't worry. The real tragedy is remembering history only for the bad news and forgetting how to take time now to shape a good future. How we live our lives each day, that's the real news. |
Jim Holcombe
Marion, IA