“We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for the latest coverage on…” These were the words spoken by a news anchor on Fox recently just after the words “Breaking News” flashed before my eyes on my television screen. At the precise moment that transpired, I was also quite deeply enthralled in the latest episode of Sleepy Hollow. But for the next 10 to 15 minutes, my show was preempted to visual images of riots and violence in Ferguson, MO that had erupted all over again. The police officer that shot Michael Brown had not been indicted for his actions and people were retaliating. While my prayers have been going out regularly to all those in Ferguson, especially the family and friends of Michael Brown, I wondered why must everyone be subjected to seeing breaking news such as this?
Before I go any further though, I think it’s important to say that I don’t watch the news at all, on any given day, because I don’t like how it makes me feel when I do. It’s usually extremely gloomy, dreary, negative, and often biased. It also consistently paints the portrayal of a doomed society where everything seems to be falling apart. So while I may occasionally glance at USA Today’s headlines on the Internet to see if there is anything I can add to my daily prayers, I generally do what I can to steer clear of watching or reading the news anywhere. I should also add that television for me is nothing more than a temporary healthy escape to enjoy a number of science fiction and/or fantasy-based fictionalized shows. But when one or all of the major networks and many other channels start flashing the words “Breaking News” on my screen and then preempting whatever it is I’m watching, I’m left with only two choices: watch their coverage or turn my television off.
So when this latest wave of breaking news about the escalating violence in Ferguson occurred, I momentarily chose to remain tuned in to until I suddenly began to feel like I did during those dark days and weeks when I kept seeing images of the World Trade Towers crumbling down or the smoldering planes sitting in the side of the Pentagon and in that field in Pennsylvania. In other words, I didn’t feel good at all inside. With where I’m at in my spirituality today, I honestly don’t want to see things like this on my television screen, not one single bit. I don’t want to view any civil unrests or violent aggressions. I don’t want to look at bleak pictures of wars raging on or anything of the sort. And that’s not because I want to hide from it or pretend it’s not happening. I just choose to not spend any of my free time nowadays tuning into things that are only going to make me feel anger, rage, irritability, and many unwanted emotions that might warp my ability to be spiritual.
The bottom line is that I’m trying to live a total life of peace and serenity these days. That was virtually impossible for me to do so in years past when I continually subjected myself to the depressing imagery on the news, especially when those breaking reports came across my television set. I truly hope that someday technology will advance enough to give all of us the ability on our television screens to choose whether we want to tune into those breaking news reports or continue watching our shows. Until then, I prefer to just turn my set off and avoid any of them because I know in doing so, I’ll feel a whole heck of a lot better spiritually then if I didn’t.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson