News That Really Isn't News

Since when did celebrity gossip, violence on the other side of the country and 911 calls become newsworthy?

I am sick and tired of hearing about who's breaking up with who - who cheated on who - who's having baby with who and who's going to jail or on probation. Every time I see something like this or someone tries to talk to me about it - I just think - this has nothing to do with my everyday life. I used to think that celebrities had no privacy but now I wish I didn't have to know so much.This is not to say that I don't enjoy celebrity gossip in it's place - in the grocery store check out - allowing me a rare Mommy moment when I can pretend that my hellions aren't with me but that they belong to the guy standing with me.

I had to listen to a 911 call not to long ago made by a woman who's husband was being attacked by a bear right in front of her. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why they were airing this woman's despair and heartache to millions around the world. It's not like most of us have to worry about bears - so it wasn't like they were doing some sort of public service. It was just a gross and outrageous injustice.

Every day there is a violent crime story on that makes me cringe. While I understand that crimes happen everyday - I don't understand how knowing about what happens everywhere throughout our nation on an everyday basis does us any good. While I think it's horrible that someone was harmed...I don't think it's necessary to know about it unless I know to be on the look out for something.

I also worry about the language that has become common place on television - I worry about having to explain so many terms to my kids that they shouldn't have to know about for a very long time. Words like rape, murder and the fact that parents have been reported to have killed their own children.

You might be thinking to yourself - why doesn't this chick just not watch the news. That's what I do at home...but every single day I am forced to watch it at work - from 10:30 until 2:00 - I am beaten down by all the horrible shit that is out there.

I might be letting my crazy show a little bit but I think it must be said.

I wonder what the American psyche will look like in 10 years.

Psyche (psychology)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Psyche

In psychoanalysis and other forms of depth psychology, the psyche (pronounced /ˈsaɪki/; etymology: Greek ψυχή psykhe "soul, mind, breath, life"^[1]) refers to the forces in an individual that influence thought, behavior and personality.^[2] The word is borrowed from ancient Greek, and refers to the concept of the self, encompassing the modern ideas of soul, self, and mind. The Greeks believed that the soul or "psyche" was responsible for behavior. A psyche in mythology means a butterfly.

I worry that we are being desensitized as a nation - that we will not blink an eye or flinch when we find out that something like this has happened in our hometown.

Either that or we will be too afraid to let our kids be kids or even think about growing up.