after being gone for almost 7 weeks, i arrived back in the US to hear people talking about how 'tomorrow and the next day' were going to be super HOT and people should stay inside... they were repeating to me what they'd heard from some weatherman on t.v.
sure enough, the next day, as i sat outside, deadheading my flowers, all was quiet. NO ONE came outside. EVERYONE was inside and i heard air conditioners from all over cycling on... and off... on... off... on... usually there are people walking, runners running, kids laughing. but that day was dead quiet.
the crazy thing was, it turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!
i thoroughly enjoyed the peace and quiet, but it made me wonder: have we become so dependent on what the weatherman says that we can't think for ourselves? that we plan our day completely according to what 'joe blow weatherman' forecasted??
it applies to news as well (and probably a lot of other things). i constantly hear people repeating reasoning they heard on t.v., whether or not it has been disproved or corrected even by the newscasters themselves!
and the newscasters know their power. for example, during one of our recent state elections, the news channels were clearly rooting for a particular candidate. every time they reported something about what the opposition was doing, they used subtly insulting or doubtful words, like 'he claimed ___' or 'will he follow through on ___?' they also made sure to pair news of the candidate they didn't like with how their favorite candidate thought it was ridiculous. i even noticed that they put vaguely related news stories next to each other that would put the un-favorite's news in a bad light. for example, if he gave numbers of how he had been succeeding in making the roads better, the news would immediately afterwards air a story of someone getting a flat tire on a bad section of road somewhere. it was almost funny, if it hadn't been so annoying!
and it made me think: are my neighbors falling for this? do they realize they're being manipulated to think a certain way??
the funny thing is that people SAY they don't trust what's on t.v... they SAY they think the weatherman is always wrong... they SAY they know that celebrity photos are fake and photoshopped... but then they repeat the reasoning a t.v. personality used, they stay inside because the weatherman said to, and they get frustrated and depressed because they don't look like that celebrity photo! it doesn't make sense!
we need to be thinking through what we hear, and then thinking through what we do in response.
i encourage you to watch your t.v. carefully. be on the defensive, not just a sponge soaking up whatever is fed to you.
the t.v. can be a great tool, where we get information, knowledge, awareness, facts... but if we rely on it completely or watch it mindlessly, we can be swayed to think what isn't true and our minds can be convinced of faulty reasoning.
i'm not saying to 'always trust yourself' either. really, all human beings are fallen and biased to what they want to believe or to hear. when it comes to bigger subjects than determining the weather, none of us can know the truth or even desire the truth without God's guidance.
He does want us to do our part and find out the truth as best we can. so especially in this election year, i urge you ignore the political ads and research the truth yourself. find a government website and find out how the candidates have actually voted in the recent past. it's a pretty good indicator of their values and beliefs.
and the next time you're tempted to turn on the AC just because the weatherman gasped and said it was going to be a 'real scorcher', step outside and see for yourself first.
