I don’t know about you, but my tolerance for bad news is eroding. As much as I believe that attention to the world around us is a civic responsibility, sometimes I just can’t take it any more. The time I spend paying attention to the news each day is necessarily diminishing (though I won’t let it reach the vanishing point). But the constant spectacle of anger, hate, cruelty, wars, diseases, floods, fires to which we are subjected is more than we were meant to endure, and more than I care to.
I used to be more critical of people who tune out politics, world events, and unsettling but indisputable science. While I still spend ample time keeping up on those subjects, I find myself turning off the news or changing the channel much sooner than I used to, and substituting beauty for the ugliness I find there. And there is much beauty to be found if we only take the time to look.
Sometimes I focus on the wonders and beauty of nature. There is beauty right outside my door — trees, wildlife, seashore, wind, sky. Other times, I look for beauty in human creations — in music, poetry, fiction, film, visual art. When I look for a podcast to listen to, I no longer turn immediately to the political offerings, but browse through my subscriptions in search of more uplifting topics. And sometimes I just distract myself with various forms of entertainment, with my work (starting a new semester of teaching tomorrow), or with my writing.
Trying to find that acceptable balance between responsible, informed citizenship and receptiveness to beauty comes down to mental health. I always thought those two words meant the absence of clinical mental illness. Now I understand they also refer to the absence of significant anxiety or depression, conditions that have become more common over the last eight years. Many of us struggle with our increased polarization, the high cost of living, the threats to democracy, the ever-present threat of gun violence, the overheating planet, and the isolation brought about during the pandemic. We muddle our way through these times feeling like the weight of the world is on our shoulders and fearing what the future might bring.
It doesn’t help (in my opinion) that so many have lost their religious or other traditional bearings (by which I mean religion true to its roots, not the corrupted forms of civic religion that dominate today), and that we seem unable to agree on a common vision of what is good and right in our dealings with others. Without a shared set of core beliefs in something greater than ourselves, something founded on both reason and compassion, something meant to build our world and its inhabitants up and not tear them down, we are susceptible to the influence of leaders who view us only as necessary instruments in their quest for power. Beauty resides not only in the seen, but also in the unseen. Whether we tap into it through religious prayer or non-religious meditation, there is a wellspring of beauty always available for us to access.
And beauty resides within us. There is nothing more beautiful than a person of character, someone who knows the difference between right and wrong and strives to do right. A person who is kind to others and helpful to those in need. Broadcast news lays bare much of the ugliness of the world, but often includes closing segments about the good that people do. We need more of that. Good news stories about people of character trying to make a better world are salves that help to heal our ailing psyches.
Many of us remember Fred Rogers’ famous line, “Look for the helpers.” It’s advice his mother gave him when he was a child and troubled by the scary things he saw in the news. In writing this piece, I came across an article in The Atlantic critical of those who would adapt this line meant for children for use by adults.1 I think that’s short-sighted. Looking to the helpers should be viewed as one component of our response to bad news, not the entire solution. But it is an important component, part of the search for beauty in ugly times. The rest is identifying and supporting ways to prevent future tragedies, and joining to help when they occur. Horrific events, like mass shootings and the new, despicable phenomenon called “swatting,” require a response. But we are better equipped to respond when we allow ourselves to be inspired by those who responded before us.
So, as I move further along into what promises to be a turbulent year, I will continue to look for that balance between being an informed and engaged citizen, supporting and contributing to positive change in the world, and taking time to find respite in nature, art, faith, and human decency. I need that respite not only for my own well-being, but also to better equip me to help with the rest.
In closing, I want to share a passage from scripture that came to mind as I was thinking about these issues. It is from the New Testament, but its sage advice can apply to people of any faith or non-faith tradition. It is from the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, and reads:
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.2
To which I say Amen.
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I. Bogost, “The Fetishization of Mr. Rogers’s ‘Look for the Helpers,’ The Atlantic, October 29, 2018.
Philippians 4:8.