I have
been sitting here crying for most of the evening... You know what, I think I
should start from the beginning.
A few
months ago, I decided to take a sabbatical from the news. It simply became too
overwhelming and depressing to watch, so I quit the news - just like that. I
was quite content to take up residence in the state of Oblivion. Whatever news
I was aware of came in the form
of snippets from the radio program I listen to during my morning commute, or
from links people posted on facebook or twitter. I wasn't a bit bothered about
not being able to contribute to conversations about current events because I
had no clue what was going on in the world. Yes it was working out quite nicely
for me if I do say so myself - until last week when two things happened.
First, I
heard about the Kony 2012 campaign and I, like millions of
others, jumped in with both feet without looking before I leapt. I mean, I
bought the t-shirt and everything y'all; as it it should literally be arriving
in my mailbox any day - but I digress... [Incidentally I am praying for the
young man, Jason Russell, who co-created the video...]
After my
rush of social activism, I stumbled on a commentary by Ugandan Journalist, Rosebell Kagumire and got the other perspective. In the case of this story, I forgot
that there are several sides to every story and you don't get the full story if
you leave them out. That is a very bad thing for a writer because the
majority of what we do to create stories and characters people care about and
relate to is to research and present multiple sides of a story. Residents
of Oblivion, I found out, do just the opposite. They go with whatever is
popular and end up getting tossed around by any doctrine/movement/story that
comes along. I was guilty. Somewhere along the way I forgot that I am that word
nerd who actually looks up words AND their origins to make sure I understand
things thoroughly long before I ever put paper to pen. [My paperback Merriam
Webster that is split in half with its many dog-eared pages is proof of that.]
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Second,
I heard about Trayvon Martin's
story [way after the fact because, remember, I had "quit" the
news] and my heart just about broke to the point I was in tears. This
young man's story hit me so hard, and I couldn't figure out why. Then tonight I
saw his picture and realized this young man was around the same age as my
nephew. I realized that given different circumstances it could have been my nephew... or anyone's
nephew for that matter. It made me sad and angry and scared for reasons I won't
go into in this particular post, but it also triggered something in me. I
believe this story had to hit me like it did to show me that when I quit the news, I
quit more than I realized.
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So, I
hear-by announce that I have moved out of Oblivion and back into the real
world. The break was nice, but I'm ready to dive back in now. I don't plan to
become a news junkie by any means, but I do intend to keep myself informed and
aware from this point on. Ignorance is NOT bliss... who said that anyway? I see
more research in my future!
NOTE: The phrase ignorance is bliss is from a poem by Thomas Gray called "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College (1742). The complete line reads, Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise."
