Ignoring the headlines and the stories behind them may leave you with a calmer lifer. And, that’s fine if you don’t mind that your world is shaped by forces that you do not know. But, for many of us, the knowledge of those forces gives us an opportunity to voice our concerns and, perhaps, to shape what happens in some small way.

Besides, those small stories are ultimately shaped by the bigger headlines.

Yesterday, there was a story about the reintroduction of African wild dogs back into an African region previously torn by war. It’s a small story and a small win. It was shaped by the larger story of war and, ultimately may help to shape a world impacted by the larger story of climate change.

But, hey, if you choose to focus on the small and don’t care how it fits in the bigger picture, by all means, keep your head down. Just remember, the mind, your mind and mine, had an infinite capacity to learn and assimilate and connect.

How much easier is it to stick one's head in the sand? If so, please don't vote your ignorance (Which pretty much proves why democracy is bullshit).

You have the capacity to take it all in, but not the time. Tic Tock. Choose your input and accord it the attention it deserves. You decide how much that is.

Great advice! It so happens that I just dumped MSN because of their divisive and offensive selections. From now on it’s Apple News for me.

It's all about the money and infotainment and click bait sells!

Good point and thanks for posting this important reminder.

Once thought I needed to watch some ‘nightly news’ to remain informed, not no more.. Anymore, it hardly seems ‘news,’ just follow-the-bodycount…

In depth podcasts, with interviews of authors or experts on a subject. Hell, late-night comedy monologues … but when I decide to ‘get down to it,’ I turn to the BBC Radio… Just the facts ~

Food for thought. But better still, plan on your core news sources being widely respected sources not beholden to either advertisers or political lobby groups. In the U. S., I am thinking McNeil/Lehrer and Reuters. Then, because significant connections among differing issues are both important and complicated, we DO benefit from hearing pundits connect the dots for us and point out their understanding of significance. Just remember, pundits are not factual reporters so much as editorialists. Always regard them as such and regard their talks as debate more than reporting. Check out several different news sources for comparison, and remember they are mostly editorial opinion wrapped thickly around a few thin facts; compare and critiques them carefully. There is simply no reliable way around the necessity of using your own brain, your best judgment, to decipher the current news. But remember the facts of the core news sources. Those commentators who seem to ignore or twist the facts must be viewed as suspect.

If you ignore main news sources entirely, you end up mostly uninformed, which is only marginally better than misinformed. Thomas Jefferson several times wrote that democracy absolutely depends on an educated electorate. If we ignore the headlines, regarding ourselves as above them, democracy is in trouble. (Hint: It IS in trouble).

Sometimes I need a distraction. The news is exhausting!