While I don't really think the media can actually cause depression, I certainly think it's an influence. It also has made it harder for me to pull myself out. One of the things that really concerns me, though, is the way it can make someone already in depression spiral down hard. The ease of brainwashing the depressed is frightening. When our defenses are down, they attack the hardest. That's some ugly shit right there.
This question of do we create the media, or does it create us is an interesting chicken and egg thing. I don't know that I see a clear answer, but like you said, it's definitely a vicious cycle. As you mentioned, we have to opt out. We have to make the change. The media is going to keep feeding us what sells, so we have to change what we want to consume.
Long ago, I had a spiritual teacher who told me to see news as a prayer request. It's just information, he said, and we have to choose to see it as an opportunity to pray for and visualize a solution. Not an easy task, but a worthy one.
If you like Democracy Now, you might like Lee Camp Redacted Tonight. It's that perspective but funny. He's snarky as hell and regularly goes on rampages, but he's super smart and really funny and possibly even more progressive than democracy now.
wow i really like this
in a way it totally is... what a great perspective. listening to a news story today about nuclear war, it certainly helps to pray when we hear this type of talk flippantly thrown around by our cheeto in chief..
thanks for the tip about lee camp- hadn't heard of him! personally i really love amy goodman and the whole deal they got going, but yes always love even more progressive news!! :)
this so much!
Indeed. That teaching has helped me so much. It takes constant vigilance to apply this to darth cheeto. Lee Camp is pretty fantastic. He got his start in the Occupy movements. He's like Amy Goodman meets Jon Stewart and then blended with an anarchist. Good stuff.