Oh no, here we go again--another sort of environmentalism. This time, I can relate, because it's personal. Information environmentalism--a movement aimed at helping me escape from the chirping persistence of cell phones, personal digital assistants, blackberries, instant messaging, television and all forms of electronic media pecking away at my conscious mind, and splitting my attention into a dozen places at once, or so it seems. Maybe the time has come for some of this information environmentalism. I have heard it said we ought to try a news fast one day a week. Given that I am still a working stiff, my guess it will have to be a weekend day, since so much email carries news to me on a regular basis on my work email.
So what would I get for my effort to fast from the news? The promise is that things would slow down (no tripping from one 5-second sound bite to the next), that life would be more positive with a whole lot less bad news. I'd find the time to take more time face-to-face, relating to the important people in my life (less time in front of the TV, or with my nose buried in the newspaper, or--my wife's favorite--checking my blackberry when the vibration tells me I have a new email message).
What sort of pollutants will I avoid? I won't know what the latest celebrity did to embarrass himself or run afoul of laws/cultural norms. I won't know which politician has lied about what and been caught (I'll still know there are plenty out there lying, just won't know which one's gotten caught--say it ain't so, Nancy). I won't know how many people have been maimed in the name of religion or politics, how many disasters have killed how many innocents.
I won't know the latest bad economic news that isn't really that bad, since it was better than the pessimists had forecast. The wonders of a "rose-colored recession." Things aren't as bad as we expected them to be, so we must be on the way back to prosperity.
Here are few things I will know. I'll know my oldest sister is healthy still. Her kids are making their way through the struggles of parenthood. I'll know she is watching out for my other sister as she adjusts to becoming a widow.
I'll get to spend time walking in my neighborhood, looking with wonder at the osprey nest across the street. I'll plant a flower or two, pull a few weeds and talk to a neighbor about what's on his mind these days. I'll sit at the beach for a bit, just listening to the waves and feeling the breeze. Not bad for a person on a strict fast...
