Written by Max Kronstadt
I write for a newspaper; I love the news. But it can be soul-crushingly sad. It brings to our front porch, lobby, smartphone, or computer screen the worst things that have happened every day. The news serves as a constant reminder of the suffering in the world.
Yet, it is invaluable that we read the news. An informed citizenry is the key to a functioning democracy, and there is no better way to stay informed than to read the news everyday. The news gives us insight into complex social and geopolitical conflicts, forces us to reflect on changes in our own communities, and trains us to care about people in the world with vastly different cultures and lifestyles.
Let us bear in mind that the news can be deeply flawed—societal biases and forces interested in protecting the status quo often find a voice in the mainstream media. We should engage with the news critically while seeking out other sources of information for comparison. We can be aware of its flaws, but still recognize that despite those flaws, the news is still one of our greatest tools against ignorance.
And so, since we have to read the news, we must figure out ways to cope with the sadness that it brings us.
I cope with the tragedy of the news by turning my sadness into a resolution to do better. I’ve recently been reading a lot about the Syrian civil war. The news from Aleppo is, most of the time, unbearably sad. But there are so many things that could have been done better in Syria, and these things can still be done better. When I think about how to make a tragic situation better, debilitating melancholy gives way to firm resolve, and the experience is far more productive.
Sometimes tragedy strikes, and there is nothing we could have done about it. I read the other day that Hurricane Matthew has killed nearly 900 people in Haiti, and it continues to wreak havoc on the rest of the Caribbean and the East Coast of the U.S. Maybe something could have been done better; there could have been international efforts to evacuate people, and there could be better floodwalls and levees in Haiti. Maybe the storm was more intense because of climate change, which we can do something about. There will, however, always be natural disasters.
There is value in reading tragic news even when there’s nothing that could have been done to stop it. Suffering is fundamental to the human condition. In learning about and understanding the suffering of others, we find empathy and compassion. Our sadness becomes a transcendent love that grounds us in the awesome power of our humanity.
It’s important to remember that the world is, in many ways, an amazing place, and that people have good intentions for the most part. Tragedy will always be part of life, but it will also always be far from the only part. As we read the news and are filled with deep sadness, we should bear in mind that this sadness is productive and that it will pass, leaving us stronger and better able to appreciate all that is good around us.