Scary!

I was chatting with my friend Tony recently.  More than just a friend, he has been a lifelong colleague; a client at one time; and a mentor continuing to this day.  I try to follow Tony’s lead in being an “informed citizen”.  That’s a job in itself.  Thankfully, we’re both retired from full-time employment LOL! 

He shared that in his pursuit of staying informed he invests some 3 hours per day reading (newspapers; The Wall Street Journal; online media sites; etc.) as well as watching TV news programs.  Problem is, he only skims the content because ultimately he gets fed up with the constant hyperbole; bickering; posturing; battling; and inundation of editorial opinions vs. factual, actual news.  He sees how scary these sources are becoming. 

Do today’s news sources scare you?  Are fear, anger, violence, and accusations the only things that catch our attention theses days?  Our information outlets sure seem to think so.  And when it comes to social media I saw this quote (in a USA Today online newspaper of all places): 

If it scares it shares

Other things “share” too, true?  I was skimming ESPN’s “Top Headlines” on my phone and one such headline read, “University of Green Bay basketball coach throws chair…”  OK.  Let’s go slow here. 

First of all, I’ve never heard of the University of Green Bay, have you?  Turns out they have an NCAA Division I basketball program (along with some 350 other institutions).  Second, it was a 2-point loss in an early season, non-conference game.  Is a chair-throwing incident really worthy of the national/international reach of this sports media outlet?  Or for us? 

Why are we surrounded by these outrageous headlines from anonymous sources; artificial intelligence; and powerful brands with agendas?  Who asked for this?  Truthfully, it scares me. I’m not alone: 

I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. 

Alexander the Great 

Thankfully, we all have the common sense and the courage to know better.  For example, if you missed the U of GB chair throwing incident – good for you!  Now we don’t have to totally neglect basketball.  There are lots of life lessons that can be learned.  In A. H. Williams’ Big Bang of Basketball © (bet you missed that one, too) we find this: 

True courage is that noble quality of mind which makes us forget how afraid we are. 

Yes, that’s the good news – the important news!  We have a noble quality of mind and the courage to live in today’s age, don’t we?  And it’s courage that gets us through: 

Real courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.

James P. Owen 

So no, I won’t try to scare you.  You won’t read this little ditty in anyone’s “Top Headlines”.  I won’t even throw a chair to get attention.  I’m simply going to forget to be scared today; saddle up; and enjoy the day the best I can.  Care to join me?  

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.