I sometimes ponder the sociological concept of “Mean World Syndrome” –particularly around the anniversary of 9/11 each year.
I remember that, as a child, I watched lots of news programs and acquired a very definite “Mean World” perspective. One segment of the news, I recall, would reenact murders, supposedly to catch criminals (but perhaps also, I would now say, to improve ratings). The cumulative impact of the barrage of negative images and info was residual fear.
I kept up with the news into my adult years, oscillating between a sense of compassion for the victims of horrid events and a sense of despair at the seemingly fatalistic nature of these events. As the despair increased, I finally came to the decision that I would listen to the news on the radio–or read thoughtfully rendered articles about the world that explain the possible causes of some of these negative phenomena–but that I would do so only in small doses.
I don’t bury my head in the sand by any means. I have made a deliberate choice to act on behalf of the Greater Good with my money, time, and other resources as often as possible. Indeed, when I used to saturate myself in the tragedy and sensationalism of the news, I paradoxically found myself paralyzed, resulting in a sense that NOTHING is within my power to change. Today, I believe strongly that this is simply not true.
Statistics reveal that the tragedy we see on the news, rather than being the norm, affects only a tiny percentage of us at any given time. Of course, for those involved, such tragedy is all-consuming in the moment, and we should all be filled with compassion for those affected. Tragedy visits us all at one time or another in our lives, and the giving and receiving of compassion is our life-line at those times.
But what of the world as a whole, the vast majority of events in the lives of the world’s people, day in and day out? What representation do the other phases of life (the non-dramatic, the non-tragic) receive? As a community college instructor, I am fortunate to be in a position that lends itself to optimism. Day in and day out, I see all sorts of people trying to better themselves. I see the fruits of their labors. I see their determination. I read in their essays about the adversity they have overcome. I read about the families they go home to– about the love they share and the sacrifices they make. I see the stress they take on in the interest of reaching for something better.
In the tragedy of 9/11, we saw an even more dramatic display of the inherent good in human nature. The willingness to help a complete stranger, even to one’s own detriment. The willingness to stand up to danger. The banding together of strangers to accomplish more than they could alone. The courage to walk into a burning building as a matter of duty, honor, and sacrifice for the good of others. The countless acts of compassion from one human being to another. And we have seen the same with many other tragedies–most recently, natural disasters–over the years.
The fact is that decent people get up and do what decent people do, day in and day out, over and over. Not perfectly, but with a good heart. This is the truth of human experience. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu expresses it, “Evil is an aberration.” Good is the truth of who we are. If we tallied up all the good in the world on a given day, it would dwarf any bad we could find.
May we each choose, in our individual ways, to remember and honor and act on the good in large and small ways, day in and day out.
What are your thoughts on the bad and/or good we see in the world? How do you recognize the good on a daily basis?
I read your blog and was brought back to our times of prayer and rememberance. Now ten years later I have a very “new” perspective on rememberance, or Re-membering – bringing the body back together again. I am teaching about the events to fourth graders. Those that would be about 10 years old. And have grown up with the event as part of their National psyche. They weren’t aware or conscious of the newness of reaction and experiencing. Of how we as a nation were bound in song, the sense of identity, purpose and unitity that (for a short time). At the sametime, next week has been designated Celebrate Freedom Week, and I see my role in that celebration as one to facilitate this process of remembering. Remembering is much more difficult when the body doesn’t understand it has been dismembered. So with intention the “negative” news can be a tool to bring understanding to our (society’s) own dismemberment and therefore an opportunity for remembering.
Growth comes when we “see” “hear” and “speak” evil.
I think that, for me, the evil happening in the moment, as revealed on the news, paralyzes me. But as soon as possible after I hear of something, I seek out some action I can do to contribute to the good. I guess, then, that I am one who needs to find some kind of agency in the matter, no matter how small or tangential. This is how I best face the problem of evil. I think that remembering is an act of positive agency as well…a chance to promote healing and, yes, a reconciliation of the body or, in other words, the self or the community. Thank you for sharing how you will be remembering with the ones too young to remember…..all love to you in this week of healing….
The Dalai Lama was asked once why there is so much bad news in the world and he said (I am paraphrasing) that it is a good thing that what we hear in the news is bad because what is in the news is the aberration and if we heard good things in the news it would mean they were the aberration. Not hearing good things in the news means they are the commonplace.
Jo, thank you for that thought. 🙂 The Dalai Lama always provokes such deep reflection on any given subject. I love that thought: Good is commonplace.
BTW – love the pic…adorable kids 🙂
Jen, The microscope analogy makes so much sense….just as.the white space around the problem substance is just background and not even really seen, so too is the good. I find myself working on this act of beholding the good not only in terms of world events but also with regard to many aspects of my personal life. It’s an ongoing process, but one which is well worth any effort I make. And, yes, sister….those ARE adorable kids. 😉 hehe Love you!
IMHO, you have to seek good to recognize it sometimes, especially with all the dogma surrounding us. Negative happenings are magnified, while what is positive, what keeps us moving forward, is easy to shrink down to the point we hardly recognize it. In this way, we fine tune our “microscope” to where the tiny specs of hate and tragedy are in view, while the larger background is obscured. That said, without tragedy, we would not know bliss. So to recognize what is good, maybe it’s necessary that we have what isn’t as a point of reference. Great blog…keep up the good work and inspiration!!