Listening Differently

Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights                                        Proverbs 18:15 (The Message)

The way that we consume news has taken on some interesting, but not necessarily good, cultural shifts over the last number of years- actually over the last two or three decades. As we are aware, people seek out news and information from certain personally preferred sources. Social media has, by virtue of algorithms, sent us information that seems compatible with our usual choices. Therefore, we have become consumers of increasingly narrow news sources.

What we know about news these days is that it is not delivered to us as it used to be. In the past, we were typically treated as citizens needing to hear the news. The print media, especially local newspapers were a kind of guardian, being a check on government. That “fourth estate” could generally be relied upon to keep government as honest as reasonably possible.

Now that news producers, and social media, see people more as consumers, whatever information they dispense that will generate more income becomes what they will peddle to a curated consumer audience. Further, local newspapers are rapidly becoming obsolete, removing some of the truth guardrails that used to exist in the news business.

So, now we have news as more of a business than as a way to keep the public aware of the political landscape. News cannot be relied upon as being objective, but it is rather a choice to reinforce accepted views. We need to challenge ourselves to hear views that differ from our own beliefs. Our current beliefs may not be informed by facts as much as by our emotions.

In America, we are inundated with political news that is designed to sell, not necessarily to inform. It takes discipline to listen to all information, from various sources, and then make an informed decision.

Prayer: Lord, give us the wisdom to listen well, Amen