The news wants you to be in fear

Lately, the news has been making people scared. Whether it’s making you think that Putin will use nukes (He won't), or that the war between Hamas and Israel is a genocide.

I feel the same way about victim blaming “liberals” with regards to Israel, as I do with the “conservatives” that blame NATO on Russia invading Ukraine.

There are both absurd, emotional arguments that ignore the right to self-defense, and exist to sew discord.

(Before we get started, I strongly urge you to read this article, Advice for living your last day

Remember to check me out on Locals; Catholicism, news, and whatever community

That’s not to say we shouldn’t worry about what’s going on in the world, we should.  But, this also doesn’t mean that we should be paranoid. 

I’d share a link from it, but people always want to force their own theology into it, but I think y’all should check on C.S. Lewis’s “on living in an atomic age”. 

Lewis’s point was, he was still going to keep living his life, regardless of what happens.

And we can (and should) pray for a just peace.

But this doesn’t mean we should neglect our own duty to God and our family. 

And if you can help the suffering, that’s great!

I don’t hold the view that we shouldn’t be sending weapons to a country to defend itself.  But, say you think that money should be helping the poor.  1) Ukraine is a poor country, and, 2) why aren’t you helping the poor?

And so you may say, “Charlie, why don’t you”?

Umm, I do, I just don’t feel the need to brag about it.  I only mention it because of the predictable retort. 

Getting back on track, worry about what you can do.  Besides praying, there are practical ways you can help those in need, like checking this out, CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION CHARITABLE FOUNDATION KHARKIV VOLUNTEER UNION+.

Don’t make excuses not to help the homeless.  If you have some spare change, don’t make excuses not to give to it to a beggar.

Are some of these people frauds?  Of course, but you’re not the one buying booze or drugs for them.  You gave them that money for food.

My point is this, the news wants you to feel a certain way.  They want you to be paranoid. Why?  Because it gets ratings.  “If it bleeds, it leads”.

I can’t find the origin of that phrase, but it’s true.

If you’re paranoid that Ukraine’s ability to defend itself is an “escalation”, that’s because that’s how the news wants you to feel. 

When I was a child in Northwestern Illinois, there was a serial killer named Ángel Maturino Reséndiz

Anyway, since I’ve always lived near railroad tracks, my mom was worried, as this is where that guy liked to hangout.

Now, helicopter parenting wasn’t as common when I was growing up as it is now, my mom warned me to stay away from railroad tracks for that very reason. 

And she was right to be cautious. 

So, the news does have a point.  The problem is, is when my mother, who is of Jewish heritage, has to fear for her life because of a group called “Queers for Palestine” (go ahead, try to have a gay pride parade in Gaza). 

The problem is, it that my mother, who, by the way, grew up during the Cold War, keeps freaking out about Putin’s nuclear threats.  She was taught how communism and the USSR were evil (always weird to me how people say Putin is a fascist, not that I consider Socialism and fascism to be that different, anyway, Truth matters).

These things are important, and getting the news out is important. But, how it’s done matters. 

“Escalation”!  “Genocide on Palestinians”! “Democrats have better economies”! (There’s a laugh, let’s compare Reagan to Biden).

I’ve seen all of these in one form or another, and just within the last few weeks of me writing this. 

And now, let’s go to what you’ve all been waiting for, a Bible verse, “Heaviness in the heart of a man, maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad” (Proverbs 12:25, King James Version, because I had it with me). 

“Heaviness” here, can also be translated as anxiety, Proverbs 12:25

My point is, don’t let anxiety weigh you down.

Adam Charles Hovey is the host of the usually weekly Bible study, Coffee and Christianity, and is the founder of the Catholicism, News, and whatever community on Locals