Whenever possible, the P-dog and I like to kick back and watch the evening news.
This shouldn't come as too great a surprise, since we also consider the symphony a happening place to be on a Saturday night.
The evening news hour hasn't been the same since the Brokaw/Jennings/Rather trifecta disintegrated, but we've gotten into the habit of having a cup of Ovaltine (I kid) and taking in a V1agra commercial or two with our evening Bushapalooza as a way to unwind.
(No, we didn't catch the last Golden Girls re-run on Nick at Night, why do you ask?)
But in reality, watching the news does more to key me up than to help me chill out. More often than not, I end up turning it off in disgust, boredom, or because someone needs my assistance in getting his head extracted from the space between couch and wall.
Last night, the news catapulted me into a full scale paranoia-induced meltdown and resulted in the exchange of cross words with the P-dog, all thanks to a segment about a recent increase in cases of deadly, drug-resistant staph infection.
As always, the underlying tone of the piece was No one is safe! This can happen to you! The world is a dangerous place! Be very, very afraid!
Obedient media consumer that I am, I took this information very much to heart and became immediately convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that a lingering rash I've noticed on the little V-meister is caused by nothing less than the lethal drug-resistant staph bacteria itself, a time bomb waiting to explode by crossing the blood barrier to wreak complete havoc on her fragile little system.
Naturally, I blamed the P-dog, who happens to be in the medical profession, for not being more concerned about the V-meister's rash, for not alerting me to the fact that it could be DEADLY, for being lackadaisical about our children's welfare, blah blah blah and then there was the time when she had a 104 fever and you were going to put her to bed without even taking her temperature is it only people with challenging medical conditions that you care about what about your own flesh and blood blah blah blah.
I can be kind of high-strung.
After conducting numerous Google searches and consulting several medical texts, we've pretty much come to the conclusion that the V-meister has your garden variety (possibly skid-mark related) contact dermititis, but my whole point here is that the fear mongering perpetrated by the media in this country is getting too much for me to take.
Have you ever watched Glenn Beck? I try to avoid him like the plague he warns is imminent, but sometimes I can't help but stop and stare in wonder at his gigantic talking head for a few moments while channel-surfing. I would be very surprised if the man does not, in fact, live in an underground bunker. Every other show he does is about signs pointing to the end of days.
Do you watch any one of the early morning news shows? Have you noticed how many segments to do with childhood illness and accidents happen to run during the 9-10 o'clock hour when the stay-at-home mom set tunes in over their morning cup of joe?
Have you ever noticed what a huge amount of airplay even the slightest, casualty-free airline mishap gets?
Did you, even for a moment, consider not having your children vaccinated because of the (as yet uncorrelated) possibility that certain vaccines might cause autism?
Are you, like me, afraid of microwaving anything inside a tupperware container because of that "microwaving plastic causes cancer" email that was going around?
I know that sensational stories garner ratings. I know that perspective and a grain of salt is what I need. Just because Brian Williams told me more people died of drug-resistant staph infection than of AIDS last year alone, doesn't mean I'll get it.
But I'm still afraid.
Not just of super-viruses. Of everything.
What I want to know:
How do you sort out what to keep and what to throw away?
What is your metaphorical sieve?
How do you leave your house in the morning when the world at large would have you believe the sky is about to fall down?
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
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21 comments:
We talk about this often in our house. Fox News is not allowed on, for a start.
I do find that when I watch a lot of news, I get depressed, fearful, cranky, but I want to stay informed too. I don't know what to do. Maybe buy USA Today?
I prefer funny news, so I watch The Daily Show. :)
I can't stand those morning shows. The fear mongering interspersed with what amounts to infomercials just makes me want to scream~
First they scare the crap out of everyone.. and then remind them how they should take their credit cards and go shopping.
Sick.
Try not to think about what could happen tomorrow, but what is happening today. See over there? The kids are playing safely. See that man over there? He's still there, too. The roof? Still there.
I, too, go through these moments when I'm absolutely terrified. I have to VERY ACTIVELY turn my attention back to the present to see that everything is fine.
This also requires you to have faith in yourself, your common sense, and that wonderful "Mama's Instinct". You are not going to let your children juggle knives or pour bleach into their tea sets. You are doing a good job and taking reasonable precautions for your family's safety. And while we may not be able to control the world at large, we can control how much we value and love one another.
I love this post, because it's dear to my heart. I struggle with this daily. It helps to know there are other mothers out there, like yourself, who struggle right along with me. Yet, despite it all, we persist in raising the most wonderful/sweet/gross/bizarre little people on the planet.
Now excuse me while I remove yet MORE vomit from the car seat...
I've stopped watching or reading the news entirely and started reading blogs instead. For me what did it are the stories of child abuse and neglect. I so cannot handle it... It's my stick-your-head-in-the-sand philosophy. Perhaps unenlightened, but I'm OK with that right now.
This post so does not help that whole paranoia. You are an enabler Rima... but I still love you. And now I'm going to go wash my hands.
reason number 4168463516 i don't watch the news!!
I always assume the worst. Pain? Cancer. Rash? Flesh eating disease. I'm brutal.
I posted about my worry-fest recently and, in the comments, jen from oneplustwo suggested this book: The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle. I'm going to ask for it for Christmas. If I live that long. ;-)
Yep, the news is evil. I stay away from it completely. I hear it is completely different in Canada though, if you're up for a move anytime soon.
I try to boil it down to what I can do something about. For example, after reading some of the scary plastics emails, I did research and decided to get rid of our plastic bottles with BPA and get others. It was something I could research, make a decision, and try to avoid a possible problem. The stuff I can't do anything about I really try to just filter out.
p.s. If you want to trade rashy kids pictures let me know. :D Melia's got something and we can't figure out what the hell it is.
Yep I cannot stand watching the news. Haven't done it in years. The talking heads just drive me crazy. Plus when you read the news you can make up funny voices in your head to narrate instead of the usual boring/deadly serious intonations.
I don't know how old you are, but do you remember the total media hype hysteria over the flesh eating bacteria back in the early 90's?
Um, yeah.
I flat out do not watch any news program. I'll catch the weather from time to time, but that's it.
I'm a happier person for it.
When the news went from reporting the facts to inserting opinions and conjecture, along with hysteria hype, I dropped them like a bad habit.
Honestly, I think the media holds a good amount of responsibility for the rise in autism. Because every parent who has a different kid now fears there is something "wrong" rather than them just being different. And the parental peer pressure (Oh my god!) to have them evaluated for it....gesh.
And if you like fear, you'll love that my friend's kid got a staph infection on his FACE from wearing a football team helmet (apparently used by others in the past) at his 15K per year posh high school. It would seem that no one is (ahem) immune from the risk.
oh, man, liv, talk about fanning the flames!
I don't watch the news anymore, but public radio and the newspaper can be just as dangerous. It's depressing to engage anymore - the more sensational the news item, the more it is shoved down our throats. The staph story scared me too, especially since our "clean air specialist's" son came into contact with staph. [Could I get it from him? No seemingly helpful graph detailing how to avoid it can shake that anxiety.] I am glad to see that I am not alone in my paranoia, but I agree with Melissa above about "Mama's instinct." Ultimately, you have to be confident in your ability to sort out the relevant from the irrelevant. Otherwise, how can you stay sane?
the news definately takes most things and adds the big fear factor to them. And then other things they never touch. it angers me. but I have no good answer for you... I guess I try todecide what I can and cannot control, and work from there.
I saw THAT on the news and my husband and I looked at each other in amazement as well. I especially liked how they made a huge deal over it (even citing the CDC) to only end with "wash your hands".
*le sigh.*
The media is very powerful and very frightening. You have to be very selective in where you get your information from, but I don't think it's a solution to stop getting news, either.
However, a lot of the stuff that is a huge deal now, has been a huge deal for a very long time, but it's only because of the graphic and detailed reporting that we are now becoming aware of it. My kids are barely let outside without supervision, because we are afraid of the 'bad people' out there. Those 'bad people' were there when I was growing up, too, but back then, we were allowed to roam.
Diseases and illnesses were way more prevalent and deathly before, the medical profession can do much more now than they could previously. We are living longer and healthier lives. But look at the news, and you'd never believe it.
It IS depressing!
- Heidi
Three things:
1) You can also catch the Golden Girls on Lifetime. Or you can borrow the first season on DVD from me. Just sayin'.
2) My hate-affair with local news is all about their lead-ins. "Is there a flesh-eating bacteria in local milk? We'll tell you after this commercial."
3) I used to be a news junkie. I'd read several online newspapers, news blogs, and watch the news in the morning. Since starting my current job about a year ago ... I can't stand it. The local newspapers only cover the worst possible things (infant used by mother to strike father...). The evening news is so freaking slanted, I don't know what to believe. And really, they do propagate a culture of fear. I can't give them my time or my anxiety.
The offer still stands with the Golden Girls DVDs.
How do I survive? I take a deep breath, and let it go. Yes, sometimes the imminent doom and gloom portrayed by the media is overwhelming, but truly, this is my only chance at living on this earth (that I know of!) and I plan on enjoying as much of it as I can. Worrying about every little cold or potential disease isn't going to protect my kids. Listen to the recommendations, process it, and move on. Obviously, washing your hands is important, but throw away the antibacterial stuff. It won't "save" you, it'll just make things worse. I personally like that my house is germy. You know why? Because my kids hardly ever get sick. They're immunities are doing what they're supposed to do and fighting off small germs and bacteria on a daily basis.
Anyway. My question is this? Do you feel better after freaking out? No? Then don't do it anymore. Be Pollyannna every once in a while. You'll feel better.
1. Estelle Getty is the voice of the teacher in The Sissy Duckling, a cartoon that my kid and I watched last weekend. Or just me. Because she's not even two yet.
2. I can't think about all this bad stuff. Because if I did, I would go insane. I am a worrier by nature, and if I thought cough was whooping cough and every fever was of the scarlet variety, I would die. And drive everyone else in my family to the cyanide. i try to think about it like this: All this stuff was probably happening 25 years ago, when we were all kids, just nobody put it on the news because we didn't have the technology-driven, 24-hour-7-day news cycle that we have now. We didn't know about half the stuff because by the time the major networks and cable cos (those that were around) found out, it was already over.
That being said, I am currently worried that my child has MRSA. Or that I am dying of some sort of sinus-related-sore-throat-and-fever disease.
Hi, my name is Ron and I’m a CNN junkie. (Hi, Ron)
I started watching CNN after the second Gulf War to make sure I got all the shock and awe in big color. Straining real close to see if I could actually witness body parts thrown all over the place. (Let me back up, I’m one-quarter first generation Italian and I was born in New York City, I have a 911 vendetta). That’s how CNN gets you hooked, shock and awe, then they brainwash you with this technique of running the stories over and over until you can practically memorize them. Lou Dobbs is on the warpath with immigration issues. Obviously never been to Los Angeles. Somehow, they’ve managed to turn the news into a cliffhanger and I’m sure they’re a bleeping subliminal messages to hook you even further.
I guess on the subliminals. Quick naked pic of Anna Nicole, quick pic of 10 carat diamond, quick pic of a milk shake, quick pic of miniature chiwawa, quick pic of a Lexus, like that.
My current plan was to drink just enough alcohol to pickle any germ that dares to enter my body. That was until Brian Williams told me I had a higher risk of breast cancer because I drink a glass of wine (or two) (ok, sometimes three) in an evening. Damn you, Brian Williams, why must you torture me so!
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