A Burden For The Times
A Burden For The Times
News Consumption: Finding Balance in Today's News Cycle
In this episode we share practical strategies for managing news intake without sacrificing mental health. We discuss the benefits of stepping back from constant news updates and offer tips like setting time limits and other helpful hints.
The discussion spans the emotional fallout from the 2020 political climate and the importance of balanced news sources, painting a complex picture of modern journalism versus its traditional counterpart. We wrap up by underscoring the importance of balancing informed citizenship with mental well-being, reminding our listeners that it's okay not to be constantly updated on every global event.
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Hey and welcome to another episode of the podcast. Hope you enjoyed that last series about prison reform. Hopefully you took away some key tips, some key tools as well, and maybe you might get involved in the ministry there that you might have at your local church or other ways to be able to effectively help with the prison system. Well, we're gonna talk this episode about news consumption. The thing that everybody loves is talking about the news. All right. Before we go into the content, though, we got to talk about something light before we start talking about something heavy like the news.
Speaker 1:So I can't think of a nice thing that is light and better than America's favorite snack. I can't get. I don't know if it's America's favorite snack, but let's talk about French fries. Who has what? Not a debate, but just a civil conversation. We don't want to make it as debatable as the news is, but let's think what is the best? French fry from fast food restaurants, not sit down. That's a different level. So let's sit down. Not sit down, but fast restaurants. Aaron, what about you? What do you think the best fry?
Speaker 1:I'm going to go Chick-fil-A, chick-fil-a you can't let the food other food influence it. You got to just let just the fry. You're just going to sit down, you're going to have a fry meal, fries, and you would choose Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-a is consistent, no sauces, just Chick-fil-A.
Speaker 2:Just straight fries. I love the consistency. That is what gets me about Chick-fil-A. I know it's overrated, but it's consistent. I know pretty much. And then if I have a problem with the fries I just put it in the app. Those fries were cold and then they sent me more fries.
Speaker 1:So it's a win all the way around. Wow, okay, so you, you, you can't separate the experience from the fries themselves.
Speaker 2:So I'm saying I actually do like the fries. That's what I'm saying. So I love the fries, but even if I have a bad experience with the fries, I get more fries. So it's a win, win, win. What do?
Speaker 1:you do with the corner ones, the one that are the brown ones, the edges like? What do you do with those?
Speaker 2:it was. Somebody was telling me that those are called the butt fries or whatever.
Speaker 1:I don't know what do you do with the butt fries? I mean that's I.
Speaker 2:I just, I don't know. I've not had a problem with any of like, maybe because I'm not paying attention, I'm just eating them while I'm shoving them out, while I'm driving.
Speaker 1:But I've not had a problem with any uh fries there no, I eat those first, just to go ahead and get them out of the way. But anyway, anton, what about you? The best fry.
Speaker 3:Chick-fil-A is a good answer. I'm going to say five guys, because I do like a little heat. I like a little heat. They give me a lot of fries and I like heat on my fries.
Speaker 1:Man, y'all have chosen two places that don't even run in. Those aren't even on my top five, and I worked at chick-fil-a man. Are you serious like they're?
Speaker 2:not your top five. Huh, that's probably why they weren't your top five anyway, anton says five guys.
Speaker 1:If you love potatoes, then you love a five guys fry. So that's, that's definitely the case, if well, okay, I'm gonna go boring. America's favorite fry is mcdonald's guys, like I thought I thought no, no no, when hot, when hot, not the the you walk in at 7 at 7 40 pm.
Speaker 1:And then there's a guy who doesn't want to drop a new set in the fryer, not those. But I'm saying, if you, everybody at their best, you can't really be. Well, you can. But I'm just saying, because you can go to shake shack and you can beat it.
Speaker 3:But I'm just saying as far as shake shack, definitely you'd say like things like a top 10 says the man who just said five guys you can like the seasoning burger just like you said, potatoes like five guys actually taste like potatoes, like it's just some we don't want in our games.
Speaker 1:If you want a potato, go to idaho.
Speaker 2:If you want fries, go to mcdonald's just oh, I'm gonna have to say, survey says no, not at all. All right, we can agree to disagree. This is supposed to be the light conversation before we were talking about the controversial stuff. But apparently, what about arby's does?
Speaker 1:all right we can agree to disagree. This is supposed to be the light conversation before we were talking about the controversial stuff, but apparently.
Speaker 2:What about arby's? Does anybody like?
Speaker 3:arby's yeah, I bought arby's.
Speaker 2:I don't like arby's, but I know that they're like the interesting, like I can do arby's like one or two, but as soon as I get to the third, it's like why am I eating?
Speaker 1:but like the first two, I'm like oh yeah, that's good when they get the curly ones, I mean at their best, like at their utopian idea of Arby's fries is amazing how you talking about.
Speaker 3:McDonald's cause. That's what I'm about to say I would make the Arby's argument for McDonald's, cause if you guys say Arby's, if Arby's is peak, they're very good, if McDonald's is pink, they're still like mid.
Speaker 1:No, you can sit down and consume an entire large fry without thinking about it at McDonald's as soon as you, like Aaron said, after you get through a couple. There's no way for a curly fry to maintain its consistency when it's shoved inside of a cardboard box, guys. So it's like McDonald's, it just happily flows right inside. But anyway, this has nothing to do with news consumption and anxiousness, but we must move on, and so with thinking about this podcast and with the direction that we're going to go, here's the spirit behind it. It has gone through our minds, right. Do we want to talk about current issues? Do we want to keep on the cutting edge? Currently, when we're recording, since it's last time I'm recording, I mean, there's been an assassination attempt on the former president. There has been a. Biden has dropped out of the race. There has been plenty to talk about.
Speaker 1:If we wanted to take this podcast and make it into something that talks solely about news and events. In some ways, we purposely have not done those things, but one thing that we did want to discuss is the fact of how is it then then? Do we digest the news, how to be informed and not be simultaneously a super anxious person, and so we're going to kind of unpack. That Didn't say that we have the silver bullet to figure it out, but I am just saying that I would want us to have some airtime as we talk about these things. So as we begin, let's just ask a question that's around the table, aaron do you consider yourself to be an informed person as it relates to politics in particular?
Speaker 2:I know the answer is going to be sad, but I'm gonna have to say capital n, capital o no, I am not as informed as I should be, and I do understand that that is a weakness well, I've been saying informed as you should be.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like saying are you a basketball fan? And I would say I'm a basketball fan. And then it's like, yeah, I know that clay thompson got traded over to dallas and I know roughly what's going on. But then it's like, yeah, I know that Klay Thompson got traded over to Dallas and I know roughly what's going on. But then it's like you're not a real basketball fan if you don't know who has three-round picks and who's going to be that person coming out of college for Georgia. Like I don't know all that. Okay, so does that mean I turn in my card? Possibly, depending on what fan? But I'm not saying that you are an analyst, but do you know what's going on? Did I surprise you by saying that Biden was out? Like I'm just saying, do you or do you consider yourself in some way to be informed?
Speaker 2:I guess if it had gone through everybody and finally I opened my threads feed and it was down there in the trending topics, then yes, I'd consider myself informed, but if it's because I came to it by myself, probably not. I'm just over here taking pictures of butterflies.
Speaker 1:Well, you mentioned you're informing is coming from Threads, so I don't know what to think here. All right, Anton. Do you consider yourself to be an?
Speaker 3:informed or uninformed person, as it relates specifically to news and politics. I keep up with politics quite a bit. It's like another sport to me. So, yes, I follow it in the same way.
Speaker 2:As far as the listeners are probably trying to figure out who was what and they pinned it probably. 100% right, anton said he wasn't informed. I was about to take mine one down, notch even lower.
Speaker 1:I would say, and I would say for myself, that I am interested not necessarily in the everyday news cycle, but I am fascinated by the cultural patterns that I see that have happened within the news, right. So almost like I kind of watch the story as it's developed and after everybody stopped talking about it then to see how that Ahmaud Arbery fits into a narrative going into the future. So whether that makes me informed or uninformed, I'm not really sure. I just know. I had a conversation today with a man who is from India and he was just explaining to me the delineation how many people in India and other countries are well more informed about the day-to-day everyday of our politics more than people within our nation, because it affects them on a wide scale of what happens during this upcoming election.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, so let's just ask the big question before. We have three big questions, but let's just ask the first question. Is it even possible like and I'll start with you, anton, you're the most informed is is there? Is it even possible to view the news in a non-anxious way? Is it even possible?
Speaker 3:um, I believe so. I think again, you would have to watch your news sources and I think again, the the piece of the level of anxiety has to come. I guess what's informing your anxiety should never be the news, if that makes any sense, that really, again, you have to put the news aside. Again, if you come to the news expecting good news, I think you're already at a severe disadvantage because that's not the nature of what people put on broadcast media. So you would have to come to the news with peace and knowing that it's all going to be okay, before even attempting to digest or consume news okay, so you do leave a little bit of hope.
Speaker 1:I erin, what about you? Because I have a different answer, but I want to unhear what you have to say to erin I do believe you could look at the news anxiously.
Speaker 2:I mean not trying to do the jesus juke here and like change it spiritual on a whim, but I'm saying I think let not your hearts be troubled. Uh, and then be anxious for nothing are two things that I. So I believe there's something there. But as far as what the news is today, I think it's created for anxiety because I think that sells. So I believe you can do, I believe our current model is set up that way and then maybe this is some ant wasn't even alluding to like you have to watch your sources, but I don't know if the news factory is even created for that intent.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a little bit of a direction I'm going to go, because moderate perspectives do not sell ads. Moderate perspectives do not quote-unquote sell papers. So therefore anxiety does sell, but maybe I'm looking at this in a weird way. But news, essentially the communication of what's going on in the current events, is basically a report of the depravity of man, Like it's typically, letting you know just what brokenness and I know this is like a really high view looking at it, but it just really just shows human depravity at its worst, right and so, with there being no solution, meaning it's not like this guy went out and committed this horrific act Now let me show you a tutorial how this does not have to happen in your life and let me give you the solution of Jesus and how he can save you from like obviously it's just there to tell you this is what's bad, this is human depravity, this is it Now again is there sometimes, you know?
Speaker 1:You know that happy story that comes at the end and see, everything's not bad, everything's not awful, and so I think that news is the ultimate hope exposer. So therefore, if your hope is without Christ, looking at it from a biblical standpoint, then there's really not an anxious, non-anxious way to view the news. Obviously, with Christ, there is a path that you can be able to have and understand. My hope is not built on this world. Therefore, I can have hope still, but I don't know, as an unbeliever, that there's not a way to view it. Now. We could be saying, all saying the same thing and I am just adding extra parameters around it to be able to make my answer of saying there is no way non-anxious way to view the news and making it that to be the answer. But do you think we're saying the same thing, Anton, or you think I'm being very critical of how I'm viewing the news as a whole?
Speaker 3:I think yes, if you're taking a critique at the news media itself, like the entire structure, I would agree with that. I just think there are places you could go that that is not going to be true. However, if you're going to a very partisan news network, I would say that probably is the case equals depravity. The news is really much like history just what happened. It really should be a fact-based scenario. However, I think, because media has taken it into a depravity cells, that that is the way a lot of people view it, but I do think there are still some places you could go that that's not the case.
Speaker 1:Okay, let me just ask this question then, before we move to our second, and that is have we seen during our lifetime a fact-based news source Like is that? I mean, I'm not saying there's not like a blog or somebody that does it well, but I'm just wondering is it, have we witnessed that kind of thing that you were describing, kind of like the amazing utopian curly fryer from Arby's, like is it out there, I think?
Speaker 3:it still is, or has it been in our lifetime? No-transcript, in our lifetime it was definitely To me. Actually there were more when we were probably like 15 years ago. I would say there were probably even more than there are now, but I would still say that they survive. I think the issue is are you obsessed with consumption? View video or will you read? I think that's going to be the distinction, Because if you're going to say you have to watch videos, that's going to be more difficult. There's no way around that, because disturbing images sell. So again, that's going to depend on how you consume your news.
Speaker 1:Now, that's interesting, aaron, you might have commentary upon this, because here's how I started out. Right Is, I found a source I really liked and actually this source hasn't even been named on this podcast years ago, and I love this source. But what happened was I appreciate the balance of it, but then eventually the audience it attracted became to be a distraction for me because it became to be like one side kind of took over from the red team or the blue team, and so therefore it's like it was so then, not necessarily the content, but the audience, and because we live in a social world, there's really no way to absorb content without also taking in the audience of that content as well, and so it became so distracting that it's just like you know what. It's not worth it for me to be able to engage with this media source because of the people they attract.
Speaker 1:Right and back in the day, let's just say you love the Carolina News and Observer. You could just buy your paper and go home and sit down and read it, and there wasn't opinions jumping out at the. Go home and sit down and read it and no one. There wasn't like opinions jumping out at the page at you. You just read it. You look at their perspective. You moved on with your life, but now, when you engage on online content, there is always a place for a voice to be heard and typically it's going to attract one side or the other. Aaron, any feedback on that?
Speaker 2:Do you agree? No, I would agree with that. But then I think most of those places tend, once you start looking at who your audience is, you naturally start appealing to them. I mean, most of the time, maybe not everybody, but you automatically, because they're the people pushing you forward. So it does make you lean a little bit to that direction.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it changes your. It's a struggle and it changes the rhetoric to some degree, Anton. Any comment before I move to question two?
Speaker 3:Not really. Like I said, I do think there are still people who don't do that. So I'm just saying like I think you're just going to have to find something more like an actual balanced approach, as opposed to we're back to partisanism, okay okay, we're gonna get there.
Speaker 2:But yeah, can I ask this, anton, do you think those people are people who aren't making their living on this kind of news? Because I feel like I know, like some people who are like hobbyist, like people who do this kind of thing, they don't make their money on it and I feel like they can be objective, but it does feel like once someone starts to really I don't want to say make money, but if that's how they drive livelihood.
Speaker 2:If it's your livelihood, it makes it starts to, it starts to bend just a little bit, and maybe I'm wrong. So I'm willing to be called wrong. It just seems that way.
Speaker 3:I don't think you're wrong. However, I do think there's another delineation that I think most people don't understand the difference between like a news anchor and a journalist. For example, I used to have journalist credentials. Journalists are held to a different standard. So like again, a person like even in the past, let's say, sean Handy, even now, sean Handy, bill O'Reilly if you want to go to the left, rachel Maddow these people are news anchors, they're not journalists, which means they operate by a far different set of standards. So I think people confuse the two.
Speaker 3:If you look at even in CNN I know some people don't like CNN if you actually go to the articles written by journalists, while they are left-leaning 100%, I would agree to that they are by no means the things you would hear on CNN. For example, we had the conversation about Donald Trump the other time when Adrian said insurrection. You won't find that written by journalists. That's one of the reasons I corrected. You'll find that written by news anchors and contributors. No one on that staff is going to say that because they'd be sued or they'd lose their credentials. So I'm saying there is a difference that I don't think most people who are looking at it are reading. The difference between something written by a blog poster who's a contributor to cnn and a journalist of cnn, or a journalist even like a fox news like chris wallace, is why chris wallace would always host debates, not a sean handy, why he's an actual journalist. Those are very distinctive things. I think people conflate them a lot.
Speaker 1:That's a good point. And so, as we enter into this second part because we've talked about the news and then we're almost making this like simultaneous, like we're saying news and politics and using these words kind of interchangeably. But so since we're saying it this way, let's just go ahead and ask the question why, if we're talking about like, can we do this and watch things in a non-anxious way? I guess another thing is can we just agree and disagree about politics? Now, this seems like a big question, can be an entire podcast and the age old question is going to be asked at every single Thanksgiving Can we just disagree about politics? And it be really okay. But here's the direction I really want us to go and think about this specifically is do you think that post 2020,? I think it's one of those things where everybody kind of walked in. Everybody walked in very emotional and, as everybody was so emotional, everybody said things stronger, harder, firmer, posted Like.
Speaker 1:If you go back and look at people's 2020, they've probably already done their Facebook or Instagram cleanup from that time, you know kind of like okay, I've calmed down. Now we're in a different season. It's kind of deleted some of those things, re-upload some of those things back. So, since that was so recent that we have come through that I'm not saying collectively, but I would say by and large I would just say my little communities that I've had.
Speaker 1:I see people leaving politics alone. In fact, even that there was an assassination attempt on the president at work. We didn't even talk about it Like it really wasn't, like like meaning, like could you imagine if that happened in 2019? Like that would have been like nonstop coverage on every church you walked into, right. So what I'm saying is do you think that this season, aaron, that we're in, you're more tied into the church? Do you see that we're doing better as a society as far as how we've been agreeing and disagreeing about politics? Or are we just waiting for this big bomb to explode and it's really coming, happening and I'm just living inside of some little rock somewhere?
Speaker 2:Oh I, I. I don't know if we've gotten any better, I just you don't think so.
Speaker 2:I just think we, we just know. Now, I think back in 2020, you looked at around and you were like, oh man, I didn't know, you had that opinion or I didn't know, and now we're all just waiting for the other person to make the first move. So you don't do something. Blow the place up like I was. Like I'm not telling a trump joke, I don't know who these people are, and before we wanted to find out. Now we're like no, I don't even know. We just need to work, bro. I don't even need to know.
Speaker 2:Yes, think about this but it works better I just think we're, I just think we're all avoiding it until one day again, like and I'm not trying to bring up positive it's gonna happen. So but I'm gonna say like, right, when you have the president, former president, almost being assassinated, and then you're about to have all kinds of jokes about a black woman running for, uh, maybe holding an office, so like it's about to come, like and I I'm trying not to be pessimistic about it as soon as the damn breaks, it's going to break.
Speaker 1:You're such a pessimist? Try not to be a pessimist. Pessimist, anton, what about you? I respect your opinion. I'm just messing with you, anton. What do you say?
Speaker 3:I'm going to agree with Aaron. I don't really know that anything has changed and honestly, I would have to go the opposite way. I think it's worse. This is, again, probably because I'm more of a conflict-oriented person. I like conflict out in the open, so everybody knows where everybody stands. Because to me this is a whole bunch of as Aaron said posturing and waiting and sizing up opponents, which I don't really like. I find that far more uncomfortable than let's. Let's just deal with the disagreement and move on.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I I don't think it's improved in any meaningful capacity wow, okay, I I wasn't expecting that kind of answer, so I I'm assuming, then, since we've already you said there's a non-anxious way to view the news, so let's ask the other question and is a non-anxious way to be agreeing about politics? It sounds like both of y'all are saying no, there's not really a way to disagree about politics in a non-anxious way. Does that make sense? Or am I putting words in your mouth?
Speaker 2:I think we're talking about. What are we talking? Individuals versus whole? Okay, that's fair. Things like, yeah, individually, yes, I think we can. I mean, we can all of us view things slightly different, like us three, and we can agree to disagree and move on or whatever.
Speaker 3:But I'm saying, when you start getting on a wide country scale, then that's that changes a whole lot of stuff and I'd also add to it because I just because you said it differently the second time about um, it being in an anxious way, but just in broadly speaking I don't think you can actually disagree about politics anymore. I think I've said that in the past. I really don't think that's possible because I think and again it's a it's an odd comparison and it's not obviously apples to apples, but I think it's getting to that point where it's like slavery in the way that so much moral value is tied to politics that I don't know that we could agree to disagree. And the same way that again I think you would have that same problem, obviously with slavery in the 1800s, that I don't know that you could really support a nine-month. And again I know I'm saying the things that all the conservatives say abortion bill and we're going to agree to disagree.
Speaker 3:I don't think on the other side, if you believe for example, you said insurrection the other time If you believe that the former president literally tried to throw over the country, I would support you in believing it would be almost disastrous if something were to happen I don't think that's a moral position you could really legitimately hold, that a man tried to overthrow the government that he should be involved in politics is going to be if you again, if that's your belief. It's going to be hard to be cordial to an individual trying to overthrow your own government that you love. So I think we've gotten to a point where the talking points on both sides are so morally indicative of your value as a human that I don't know that you could actually agree to disagree.
Speaker 1:That's interesting and do you feel that the rhetoric that they've has called on to calm down will take place? Because after the assassination attempt, it just we were just reminded as a country of like, wow, you know these strong language, the strong language that's being used in podcasts and all these other. You know political, you know pundit channels and stuff. Basically, do you feel that this is actually going to change things or do you feel that's just a momentary pause?
Speaker 3:Because I don't think it again. I don't even know what you're citing to say that it changed things. I'm like the next morning there were a lot of crazy things said by many left-leaning individuals.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I mean I listened to some of them and to me it seemed like some of the wording I mean even the RNC with their unity campaign during the National Convention maybe that was what they're going to do anyway. Campaign for the during the um, the national convention maybe that was what they're gonna do anyway. But I'm just pointing out like it there seemed to be a rallying at least of like they're idiots, but they're not like stupid, booming, crazy, dumb idiots. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Like it seemed like not at all okay maybe I'm just I'm just curious because I'm like, how much of the rnc did you watch?
Speaker 1:Just there was that guy. I watched highlights, and then I watched one guy. My goodness, it was two guys. I can't remember his name. It was two black guys. I can't remember their names though, but anyway, all I have to say is I thought that that was the driving theme when Trump walked out. The unity sign is like glowing behind him, whatever it is. I thought that was under. I thought that was the theme of their conversation or even their platform for his campaign.
Speaker 3:Again, I think that was said. I'm just saying I think if you watched a lot of it, a lot of what JD Vance said could be described as polarizing several, I think several of the individuals. Again, I'm not against them, just to be clear, I'd have no dog in the fight. I'm just saying in general, I think a lot of people said the words unity but did nothing to actually unify anything. And again, like I said, about other people saying that they were sad that the guy missed on national television oh see, I know there's a lot of people saying a lot of things that again I didn't hear anything like the opposite of unity. So I don't know that the country as a whole is unifying. I think again, that was more of a political statement to that has been played a lot on certain conservative networks, but I don't know that I would say that we're unifying certain conservative networks, but I don't know that I would say that we're unifying anything.
Speaker 1:That's interesting because I thought if ben shapir was giving a head nod to the fact that there seems to be some unity, you know, language or rhetoric being calmed down, I thought, like good night, they must have really said something sweet on the other side. But apparently that changed very quickly when I was looking at it. Well, um, aaron, do you have anything about that?
Speaker 2:before I move into this final question here, I don't have the and this is me as the person who's not informed. I don't have the informed opinion of what happened after and how it got worse, but I'm just saying my Facebook feed was a little bit ridiculous and then I was like, when I'd open it up I'm like why am I even here?
Speaker 1:Why? Sometimes I'm like why am I even here? Why?
Speaker 2:Sometimes I'm like why do I open this app? And if it wasn't that I need it for work, sometimes I'd already delete off my iPad and other stuff Like Facebook, if it wasn't for like one or two things I'm like why do I even open this app?
Speaker 1:Because people are posting stupid stuff.
Speaker 1:So, yes, today was a reminder of why I have the app is I have a friend back from college has sent me a messenger app, and I know that you can have messenger without Facebook and stuff. But at the same time, it's like you know what every now and again I do? I, before he sent me a message and so before I respond to his message, I look like, oh wow, he got married. Oh, wow, he has a family. You know like just did such a house cleaning at the end of 2021 that now it's like man, everything was fine, it was rosy in my little neck of the woods during that entire debate, but anyway, so let's do this. So we've kind of like pooh-poohed on the idea of kind of like the well, not totally so, but just the idea of, you know, news consumption and then even the politics, and it's just. It's just the stickiness of it and it's sad, but it is interesting. Oh man, I got it. Let me say this one point. Then I'll ask my final question, and that is it's interesting.
Speaker 1:I was talking to the man from India and I'm not going to say his name purposefully, because he does work for our nonprofit. That puts him in dangerous situations, so I'm not even going to even broach his name, but I'm going to call him Bob. But when I was talking to Bob, it was interesting because he was telling me about how the Christians in India are praying and fasting and praying that the red team wins this election, right? And so, as he was describing all these different things, I began and he was like you realize how elections determine so much in other countries? Right, because the two times and I didn't think about it until two times my family has lived overseas that the American embassy has said leave the country. Now, one of them was COVID, so that was pretty, pretty clear. And the other one was an election, right.
Speaker 1:And so then, aaron, I think you were heading to Haiti, and then, because of an election at one point, or maybe that was my trip, but I couldn't go to Haiti because of the election year. And then, so what, you living in the apartment, we looked on the news through WhatsApp and realized that the place that we were saying they were having riots at the corner beside that mall one week after we had got back to the United States. So what I'm saying is, wow, things do change quickly, and so politics is a big deal. So we've kind of like highlighted it, but we don't want to just leave it highlighted like wow, it's bad. So let's try then to see, okay, what are some practical helps.
Speaker 1:And engaging news and engaging blogs, engaging opinion pieces and news content Kind of this is our tip and tools. Final question, as we head from this topic Aaron, what have you found to be helpful? I know you say you're uninformed, but somehow or another, I'm getting the idea that you're not overly anxious concerning today's events. So is it oblivion? What exactly, then, do steps do you take to be able to then keep it under wraps, so to speak, and still be somewhat informed?
Speaker 2:What I do is I go find my wife and say has Anton said anything in the polo about this? Anton hasn't. Then I'm like, oh man, not that big a deal.
Speaker 1:then Can I just highlight real quick Marco Polo is the app that we use for our family. Everybody can talk and then the whole family can hear what the conversations are going on. In fact, it's my social media of choice. It's like the most real version of relationships that I have is marco polo.
Speaker 2:But anyway, continue, just so the people um but I would say I actually do look through flipboard. Um, I flipboard on my ipad the uh magazine. Uh magazine like you still use flipboard after all these years. I do still use flipboard. And the other thing is the reason. One of the reasons is because I have it like I don't say my algorithm trained, but it does.
Speaker 2:I have lots of different things, uh, that it brings up and so I get to read articles, especially like I do keep a lot more up with stuff around baltimore I think I've done that a little bit more than I've any other place I've lived. So I keep up with stuff going around Baltimore and stuff like that. So I do look at that. But the only other thing I would say is one of the problems that I'm having with even keeping up is most of my social media apps. As soon as I get on, I go through the hidden words and so like the words you don't ever want to see, and so if you go to all of them, maybe I'll offend some people by saying this, but Donald Trump's one of them.
Speaker 2:Probably President Biden's one of them. Like I just say, I don't even want to see these words in my timeline, so then I can move on. Probably why I live over here in a fantasy world. Yeah, but that's. This is why I'm the economy is booming, aaron.
Speaker 1:The economy is booming Houses. The economy is booming, aaron, the economy is booming. Houses are giving away for free, aaron. Anyway, yeah, exactly so.
Speaker 2:I'm not. I heard like JD Vance right when he was selected as a running mate, right? Yeah, I didn't. I read Hillbilly Elegy a long time ago. I thought it was a decent enough book, interesting story and all that. And then people were talking about JD Vance, jd Vance, jd Vance, and I'm like ah. And then somebody's like, yeah, when JD Vance said this, I was like wait a second, that's the Hillbilly Elegy guy and everybody's like we've been talking about for the last 30 minutes. So this is where I'm about to have informed on it. Wow, I, I read, um, I was trying to find the quote in the book because it talked about if you read old books for the time that you spend watching the news and this is not a knock, because anton is definitely more connected and he's read more older books, so he defies them both ways but it's like if you spend more time reading older books than you do watching the current news, you'll be wiser the long run, and so that's kind of the thing I've taken, wow um, so I I have made.
Speaker 1:we're coming to you, anton. Let me just make a comment, though, first and for me, I I pretty much disengaged to some degree. I got distracted for a moment because you had me downloading flipboard. It's been a long time. I was like it is kind of a nice app, because that's when iPad first came out. Flipboard was like the reason to buy an iPad, right and so, anyway, so downloading it. But now I got distracted.
Speaker 1:But back to my point that I was making before is I went on a 2021, in a 21 or something like that is, and I think we might have done a podcast about it that we did not. I came to the conclusion that I did not have to be to know every single terrible thing that was going on in the world simultaneously, because I knew that my position and where I was, I was taking it so deeply that I felt like I didn't have to be aware of it, and so I kind of took a step back from the news and it was okay. I was still aware of what exactly was taking place in our world. I didn't think that like, oh man, this is this giant hole inside of my knowledge because I can't come to the dinner table and be able to tell you every single one of the Supreme Court justices and who was next coming down the pike, and it was just kind of like I don't think I'm post, I have the capacity to be able to be aware, and so therefore it was just a very top level just being aware of the news and then kind of just kind of dipping my toe in accordingly as I went through. So anyway, so from that reason I would just make that thing.
Speaker 1:That's like for some people you know you ask this the question is practical helps for engaging the news For some people it's really not that serious, like like it's not, like the world's going to blow up, right, Like look, if your hope is in the Lord and I'm not saying that we can just be okay and just live in oblivion purposely because, mean, there are some things obviously to be aware of that can help you be wise stewards, and so, and voting and all those kind of things, yes, those things are important, but I do believe there are resources out there to equip you before you make those decisions. And it does not require a blow by blow pay play. I do not have to watch every expedition game, every preseason game, every game for the NBA finals I mean NBA season to get to the playoffs, to know what's going on. I can get caught up, watch the playoffs, enjoy it, watch the finals and call it a day, right. So I kind of look at that same way.
Speaker 1:Concerning the news and time, that was my little commercial, so for you helps in engaging the news, blog, opinion pieces. Since you are informed things, you've used sources you like or whatever it be.
Speaker 3:as we continue this discussion, I think one of the most important things is defining on the terms, because even politics, as Aaron was saying, with Baltimore, I think, as I've said many times, people overvalue national elections and focus as opposed to local elections. Then, secondly, I'm going to say go to understand new sources. So what I mean by that is like, for example, associated Press, ap or Reuters. These are going to be probably your most basic as Aaron would call them, boring stories with the least amount of flashiness. Not just flashiness, but language that leads yes, exactly, and those titles that lead people to honestly just like and if you've looked at the Trump shooter thing, it was most left-leaning things immediately said Republican shoots Trump, and then I mean, yeah, and then the other side is pretty much just saying that the man gave money to Biden. So, yeah, flip that back. The Democrats are saying he was a Republican, which he was, and the Republicans are saying, well, he gave money to Biden. And that's the headline which just grabs people to say your side is correct. Pretty much, that's the only pretense of that headline. So I would say understand sources. There is going to be left-leaning sources, right-wing sources.
Speaker 3:Once you understand what the source, you can usually parse what is fact from fiction, or what is there to insight, anger in an audience and what exact audience is trying to prescribe? So I would say, knowing sources is also very important. But lastly, when reading news and not just because I would prefer reading it to watching news, because I think that's another key thing that we've lost is the ability to read, because reading lets you, to a certain extent, much like the AP, be unbiased. Watching news, because I think that's another key thing that we've lost is the ability to read, because reading lets you, to a certain extent, much like the AP, be unbiased. Our vision, especially, again, if you have the ominous music, like Adrian said, that this Zencaster now has the music that you can play in the background. All you have to do if you play heist music right here yesterday.
Speaker 1:You'll never guess what All you have to do if you play music Yesterday.
Speaker 3:You'll never guess what it is. Music and visuals can change the nature of a story in and of itself. You could tell the same story with Donald Trump with evil music in the background, and people will have a different reaction than if you just played happy music and had the American flag, like the picture when he got whatever and the flags flying in the background.
Speaker 3:It's a different photo that changes everything so I think there is a element of just being able to read as opposed to having to watch videos, and especially just get away from cable news in general because it's trash.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, you went through, so come on, let's be a little so. Are you saying like, okay, know where Ben Shapiro is, and just so? Therefore, knowing where he's coming from helps you to digest his angle, or whatever it is when Candice is coming from, or Trevor Noah, is that what you're saying?
Speaker 2:is Well, let's just say, if you're not going to read and I mean, I'm pretty sure those aren't journalists, just for the record, and this is helpful are none of those journalists right?
Speaker 1:none of those are jurors, right? No, shapira won't be considered a journalist. No, no, in about 10 years okay. So I wasn't sure, because I mean, I mean he is informed, I mean I, I'm not arguing again, that doesn't mean uninformed either, that's.
Speaker 3:It is a specific word I'm saying like it needs. He's not credentialed, like you're not. Okay, he's not going to be able to go to the white house press briefing because he doesn't have credentials understood and so like.
Speaker 1:So if you know where megan kelly or something like that's coming from, then it helps you to digest their content. Is that what you're saying? It does.
Speaker 3:And I also. Let's go back to the journalist thing. I think this is another key element the difference between a journalist and a personality. The reason that an article written by a journalist is better is because an article written by a journalist is far closer to an autobiography, whereas he is a commentator. The only thing he can do is really commentate on what a journalist has said, which is exactly what you can do at home. He has no inside information. He cannot go to the White House and interview anyone. He doesn't have the sources. All he can do is repeat what a journalist told him.
Speaker 1:So you're already playing a game of telephone when you're talking about a personality, which means the information may not be as accurate, but the journalist in some way needs the voice for his work, doesn't he?
Speaker 3:He does. But I'm like, even if you, because they're not as popular shows. There are journalists who have shows. Now am I going to say that, like, the nightly news is not left-leaning at all? No, it is left-leaning. Now, is it substantially not left-leaning at all? No, it is left-leaning. Now, is it substantially less left-leaning than, let's say, most cable news networks? Of course, because those are actual journalists who again are credentialed. So there are still ways, even if you wish to see visual media, that you can just avoid cable news and go to people who actually are the source instead of the people who are just going to quote the source, gotcha. Okay, well, I'll give the source instead of the people who are just going to quote the source, gotcha.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, I'll give my tip tool or anything like that that y'all might have. I'll give mine. I know that we've been kind of consolidating it, all of this one question and the tips and the tools I would bear in mind for my tip that bear in mind that during COVID, what exasperated COVID? Not only the fact of obviously a virus and pandemic hitting our world, but at the same time, there was boredom and there was the news consumption at a level that had not been ever like, ever right. So, and when you combine those two you took, you put it inside of, like this microwave that just really just exploded over, obviously, the george floyd situation and so many other things. Because those two were combined, I would say with, as it relates to a tip and tool concerning news consumption, without anxiousness, you know, I know it sounds like a joke sometimes, but some people are like I am so anxious, I am so concerned about our country and most times when I go to churches and I'm speaking because I still speak out at churches, as I'm speaking to churches and people are telling me this and I just want to ask the question like bro, how much news are you watching? And they are so informed that they're literally dropping two or three hours of watching the news a day, right, and so it's like, man. You might need to set yourself some time limits, man, whether you put them on your phone during your lunch break, don't let your default be your news app or whatever. I would even recommend a news curfew, because the time of day does matter.
Speaker 1:Sometimes. When you wake up in the morning, if that's your clearest, brightest time, you might not want to check the news the first time to see if Kamala got the nomination. This might not be the path for you actually being able to let your hope be the lord. Wouldn't it be a form of sacrifice that those, those special hours that you give to the lord so like? Let's just say it's the evening, so the last thing you have on your mind is making sure, before you go to bed, you gotta make sure that you this, you've checked on what the uh supreme court and the that you've checked on what the Supreme Court and the Congress, congressional hearings, going on with the Secret Service and all that stuff. Is that the last thing on your mind before you go to bed? Well, don't be surprised if, throughout the night, it's kind of like the toss and the turn or whatever it is. So I would just be aware of not only time limits but also the fact of a time of day that is permissible and not permissible to be able to do so. And so I'm just trying to think of just very practical tips.
Speaker 1:You know, because for me I'm not saying like I know exactly how you feel out there, I'm not saying, but as a person who has whether you call it a gift or a curse I, I can feel people's trials, if that makes any sense. Like, like I had to stop reading stories about people who were vulnerable, who got abused and stuff, because I remember watching one story and reading one story about the stoning of this girl and different things. It took me so long to shake it and I just was like Lord, I care and I want you to. Well, we got to do something. And in my mind I'm formulating 10 different plans of how to brutalize the people who are involved. Like I just knew for me I can't do that.
Speaker 1:And so, with that being said, is you've got to? I'm not saying how I know how everybody feels, but I am saying I've been in a position where I knew I needed to step back and just learn how to then put it in the Lord's hands concerning it, and then realize I do not have to be that one. The community Lord's placed me in is providential and the people that I can influence is providential, and I must lean into the Lord that this is where he has me and I might not be able to do anything about those things out there. So any other tips, any other tools, any other commentary?
Speaker 3:before we close this up, I was going to say also watch some local news. I know that's lame and cheesy for a lot of people, but this is another thing that I think, as you're alluding to, about just when we're talking about social media and everything else and how we all have this world view that you can only we obviously none of us can save the world. Only Jesus can Start by taking things that are actually action steps that you could do, and there's a lot of stuff. Especially you watch your local news, your county, your city a lot of things you can actually tangibly do, which I guess, just again from more of my I have to be involved kind of person, the thing that helps me not be anxious is to be involved in action steps that I can take in my local community. That would be useful and I think if all of us did that again on a more broader scale, just Christians in general start taking care of their local counties, a lot of those national problems kind of go away on their own.
Speaker 3:Instead of trying to start at the top and work our way down. You really have to start at the bottom and try to work your way up, have to start at the bottom and try to work your way up, and I think we a lot of times do not focus on local problems that we actually could have on our school boards, at the mayor level, on our city councils. These are places where we really could make an impact, as one person could make a tremendous impact, and I think that's very important to focus on instead of just trying to focus at the presidential level.
Speaker 1:You're exactly right. In fact, that's one of the things that you just mentioned about the school board that you know when you hear about things going on in schools, you can then be able to make some changes. In fact, I know some of the people that that I actually work with at ICM that are school board reps and other different things as well. So there there is definitely opportunity. That is feasible. In fact, I went to the city hall and actually some of the people were walking around and say, adrian, you're going to run for mayor. I was like no, but if you give me half a chance, I just may do it. You know cause I gave a very passionate speech during a council meeting recently, and so it's like man, you can make a difference, and it's kind of like you know, it does mean something.
Speaker 2:So, aaron, anything from you before we close things up um, I don't have anything as profound as you guys have, uh, but I would say I, I have, I've learned, and so for that I'm grateful because, even as, uh, one of my picks was going to be uh, well, I guess it can still be. Is them by ben sass? Is it been sassy, been sass, sass, been sass? Um, I figured it was sass. So sorry if anybody offended for Sassy, but Ben Sass, his book, them. I really like the book, anton, please tell me that it's not a terrible book.
Speaker 3:No, I think it's a good book.
Speaker 2:Because the chapter I think it's I was actually looking it up it's chapter three, the Conference of Politertainment and Political Entertainment. That's a solid chapter to me and so that's I was actually just gonna make. I think the whole book is good, but that part about in chapter three this is one of the things that even what anton was saying today, with me learning and even thinking through who's a journalist and who is a influencer or a person with a personality.
Speaker 2:I think that's what he talks about in that chapter, about looking at getting your information and going for people who are political, political entertainers versus people who are actually doing the news, and so anton has actually made me think through like I need to look for those people who aren't the entertainers but who are actually trying to make news, and they may have their own biases, but it'll still be way better than trying to get my how I should live my life from family matters or, like I guess in the musings, ourselves to death, where he talks about how we look at these things, just to gain knowledge when they're never built for that they were never bit to inform us.
Speaker 2:they were built to entertain us Wow.
Speaker 1:I just looked at the book. It's a big book too. Good night, it's a long book Anyway.
Speaker 2:Solid one. I don't know what his political leanings are. I know he's more conservative, but I would say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Interesting.
Speaker 1:All right, well, all hearts and minds clear then, gentlemen, from this episode. Yep, all right. Well, I hope that this has been a help to you. We appreciate all those who listen in and send commentary and feedback to us, and I know that we've kind of had two episodes of recording from Anton Imprisoning Reform. If you have questions about that, still reach out to us at aburdenforthetimes at gmailcom, and so we thank you for listening to this episode and we look forward to you joining us.
