news.

in an effort to be a more responsible and educated member of my community i decided to watch the news last night. i typically never watch the news and because of this- find myself constantly sort of in the dark as to what is going on in the world. i never know what's going on with the weather... i never hear about the important stuff happening. to be perfectly honest- i found out about the arizona shooting days after it had taken place and felt a bit embarrassed for being so behind.

well- last night after dateline wrapped i decided to watch the news. half way through the news segment i was reminded about why i'd decided to avoid the news to begin with. they showcased stories that were nothing short of pathetic- sad- sorta devastating even. i learned about how three guys had been picked up for robbing a house earlier in the day. i learned about how a really nice woman who runs a ministry for battered women found herself battered and beaten by a stranger as she walked to her car from a meeting. her face was bruised and she may never see through her right eye again. i then learned about a hit and run situation that had taken place early yesterday morning... a guy came flying into this woman's car and simply drove off. nice.  next i learned about how all of these snow days here are negatively affecting tennessee students and people are concerned that the standardized testing scores will be embarrassingly low this year. i learned about a meth lab here in tennessee that had been discovered and even a huge heroin bust that taken place on franklin road earlier in the day. there was a brief update on the arizona congresswoman's progress- she's been transferred to a hospital in texas... still can't talk... still cant walk.... doctors are saying that her recovery will take longer than anyone originally anticipated. there was the weather forecast last- more snow. more cold. more ice. more snow. more cold. more ice. ugh...

i turned the news off half way through and was quickly reminded that i don't care to watch the news because of one reason and one reason only- it's depressing. really depressing actually. for a person like me- who NEEDS to believe that our world is a good place MOST of the time.... the news is just too much. i don't like to hear about the drugs and the violence and the hate and the absolute LACK of integrity... all of these things that have somehow managed to just take over. i sadly suspect that this is not just true for my community and that the majority of you (regardless of where you live...) hear the same or similar stories each night on your news broadcasts. it's sad. it's disheartening. it's just not for me really...  as i layed in bed last night thinking of the news i had watched and about the stories i heard about- i wondered why on earth anyone would be so stupid to bring a kid into this sort of place... if the world is just filled with hateful wrong-doers and meanys... why bother trying to a raise sweet and educated and good kid? then i realized that i was being a bit dramatic and that i will continue in my persuit to bring a baby into this world but will choose to do so as a non-news-watcher. it's just necessary.

that's all.