Do you remember that old adage “Ignorance is bliss”? I don't
know if that saying is true, but I would like to put it to the test. You see, I’ve
been following mass media news stories pretty much every day for a long time,
and it’s really cranking up the ol’ anxiety meter. Frankly, I’d rather not add
ulcers and insomnia to an already growing list of annoying health complaints.
I figure if I stop watching, listening to, and reading the
relentless stream of hysterical news and commentary, maybe I will achieve a
little bliss. Of course, this means I won’t be up to speed on the latest sound
bites uttered by the Bad Orange Man, Comrade Bernie, Creepy Joe, or any of the
other 900 famous and powerful people who scream for attention on a daily basis.
And it’s true I will miss out on the indignant outrage on Twitter and Facebook that
always occurs in response to these sound bites.
I’ve been keeping up with this never-ending flood of
information on a daily basis for many years now, and what has it gotten me? Mostly
anxiety and frustration.
For example, I recently learned about Kamala Harris’s outraged
opinion about Ben Shapiro’s snarky observation about Bette Midler’s angry
comment about the president’s latest insulting tweet.
That’s a lot of information for my brain to absorb. And
similar events occur dozens of times every day, with each instance being THE
most important news story of the year — for about a quarter of an hour. Then
something else comes along for its 15 minutes of frenetic fame.
I think the Bible puts it this way: What does it profit a
man to gain the whole Twitterverse and lose his mind? (Or something like
that.)
I cannot honestly say any of the gigabytes of political and cultural
data I’ve been shoving into my head in recent years has done me a darn bit of
good. Unless having one’s central nervous system in a constant state of
aggravation is considered a good thing.
Here is a list of people who I know way
too much about, for no apparent useful reason: Adam Schiff, Mayor Pete, Alyssa
Milano, Ann Coulter, Lena Dunham, Michael Avenatti, “Che” O.C., Alec Baldwin, Dana
Loesch, Shannon Watts, Bill Nye the Pretend Science Guy, Joe Scarborough, Jonah
Goldberg, Joy Behar, Jim Acosta, Michelle Malkin, and Rachel Maddow. (If you
don’t recognize these people, oh, I envy you!)
I’ve absorbed volumes of data, but I’m
certain it has not produced a scintilla of wisdom. And it definitely has not
produced any serenity.
They say the Dali Lama meditates in an
attempt to achieve total consciousness. Well, I want to find a technique that
will help me achieve total ignorance. I suspect if I can do this, it will put
me in a much better frame of mind. I also suspect it may involve smashing my
iPad with a hammer and pouring an entire quart of maple syrup onto my laptop computer.
So, I’m going to try the dumbbell route for
a while. Let’s go back to the blissful days of yore, circa 1990, when we didn’t
worry too much about politics and current events. No more breathless news
reports, and no more surfing the Internet for the latest outraged response to
the indignant reply to the angry invective produced by some original comment
that no one even remembers anymore.
I’m pretty sure I can live without all that
information, and I bet I won’t be nearly as stressed out. And in November of 2020,
if someone like Creepy or Orangy wins the presidential election, please don’t
tell me about it. That’s a nugget of knowledge I can live without.
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