I have friends, really nice people, who don't read any newspapers or watch the news on TV. They never know about anything that's going on in the world. Oh, and they don't have a computer either.
When the shooting happened in Texas and everyone was discussing how horrible it was, and the wife said, "What are you talking about?" When she was told, she kind of shrugged like she didn't care.
Years ago, I had a friend who was the same but happened to hear people talking about the Cuban crisis--for those too young to have heard, during Kennedy's presidency it was feared that the Russians had joined with the Cubans to attack the U.S. People were running out and stocking up their food supplies just in case--and she asked me if what was going on was anything she should be worried about. I told her "no." As it turned out it was the right answer.
It is hard to read and hear about all the horrible things that are going on in the world--something new every day--but it is a reality. I'm not sure that protecting yourself from bad news by refusing to read or hear about it is the way to go. What if there really is a big crisis that a person needs to prepare themselves for? Frankly, I think we all ought to be ready in case something like that happens. It might not be a threat from an outside source, an act of nature could happen--certainly they happen every day somewhere in the world. It's always better to be prepared.
Where this couple lives, in the foothills like we do, the biggest natural threat might be fire. However, recently during all of our big rains, where they live the road was so flooded many were stranded in their cars. A tow truck driver made a fortune hauling people out onto dryer land. And no matter where we live, there are bad guys lurking to take advantage of unsuspecting people.
My mother always said it was better to be prepared than sorry. Having grown up during World War II in Los Angeles, I can tell you that my mom did everything that we were told to be prepared. Besides all the mandatory black-out curtains, we had a good supply of non-perishable food stuffs in the cupboards of the inner room where we could have a light on during a black-out. Mom had a great vegetable garden and canned the excess. She took First Aid classes and had a supply of medicine and bandages.
So, what is your feeling about this? Do you think it's better to not know the awful things that go on in the world or should you pay attention and be prepared?
Marilyn
Books by Marilyn
Tuesday 1 February 2011
Burying One's Head in the Sand
Posted on 03:10 by Unknown
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