7 Comments
Feb 7, 2023Liked by Brian Klaas

Brian, another masterful piece! I want to be cynical about this and simply reply, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Or I could go all Don Henley and recite the song Dirty Laundry, “Got the bobble headed bleach blonde comes on at 5. She can tell you about the plans crash, with a gleam in her eye. It’s interesting when people die. Give us dirty laundry.”

We (royal we) as consumer of news drive this because we have short attention spans, and cannot resist a good train wreck, disaster as we are riveted by it more than we are repulsed by it. And it makes us feel great because it ain’t us!

I stopped watching the 24 hour news cycle because it was so depressing or angering that it was not doing me any good. Or my family any good. And most importantly was no longer useful. Today I read my news, choose what I want to spend my time on so I learn something and maybe could use that knowledge in some way. This is why I read Substack! Why I read your work! It is intellectually stimulating and I always learn something along the way and connect it to other things I am working/experiencing/or have a curiosity for.

The question we should be asking ourselves is why is the 24 hour news cycle more popular than ever? The cynic in me, which runs strong, thinks it is the opiate of a large mass of people who do not want to think, or spend time being curious or diving into a subject or event, but simply want to be 1) angry, 2) confirm existing biases, and 3) have short attention spans. Look, we have news for every political stripe! Media communicates in a staccato, bullet point like form rather than a flowing coherent narrative that brings a richness and detail to the story.

Alas, even this response would be edited down in the 24 hour news cycle to (fox news) say, “Intellectual cynic says common man too uneducated to understand the news”

And it would be a hit because it hits the anger, confirmation bias, and short attention span button.

I’m going back to my cave and read Beowulf again...

Expand full comment
Jan 1Liked by Brian Klaas

I am so glad to have discovered your writing and teaching. I know that you are not arguing against feel good stories, but I believe that they have more value than you give them credit for. One of the main reasons I stay on Twitter is to witness the everyday heroics of Ukrainian soldiers and citizens. I derive strength from every video of soldiers rescuing kittens from bombed buildings, from those who still manage to keep their small businesses open, go to school and celebrate holidays. It makes the war personal, and importantly encourages me to give ever larger donations, and do what I can to help.

Maybe, just maybe, upon seeing a young black man shoveling his white neighbor’s walk or seeing a black bus driver saving the children on her burning bus, one or two bigots open their minds a little and hate a bit less.

I need the reminder of good people in this world to not give in to despair. We all need hope.

Expand full comment

Digital dopamine I think. There is an addictive quality to drama (the news or Netflix) – something, almost always bad, happens and without realising it, or why, we choose to watch again and more. We don’t listen, with rapt attention, to the birds singing any more – but we can change.

Another incisive piece from Brian.

Expand full comment
founding

And then go for a walk, travel, love and enjoy life is the most sensible advice.

Expand full comment
deletedFeb 6, 2023Liked by Brian Klaas
Comment deleted
Expand full comment