NEWS!
Copyright © 2018,2024 Raymond Cannefax 

News! 
Does it have merit? 
Has it ever had merit?
Is it not a means of promoting unpleasant incidents?
Is it not gruesome and grotesque, showcasing the maimed, the dead, worldwide destruction?
Is it not intended to inform us of disasters that have destroyed life and property and sanity?
Is it not the provider of accurate headcounts of the dead children after a school slaughter?
Is it not a great way to tell us about "rigged and stolen" elections?
Does it not generate riots that injure, main and kill innocent individuals?
Does it not take us on manhunts of murderers who killed everyone in the convenience store, even the little Cocker Spaniel shopping for dog food for her puppies?

News! 
It is rarely uplifting, yet Lester Holt ends his newscast with pleasant material that brings a smile.
It is not the delivery of depression to the millions firmly affixed to their television sets, knowing there were only two fatalities while seven others survived with minor injuries, knowing the driver was going too fast on the icy corner and will be brought to trial.

News!
It is history!
Nothing can be done to reverse history.
Nothing to be done to right the wrong or bring back the dead.
Nothing to be learned other than that our world is filled with disturbed individuals and sadness.

News!
It happens, and we have been taught to view it, read it, digest it, believe it, get heartaches over it, get depressed by it, get into arguments about it, and allow it to bum us out.
Heart attacks caused by the news are acceptable and get no mention while a heart attack from excessive exercise at a gym gets labeled as Breaking News.

News!
"I have difficulty sleeping at night," I told my doctor.
My doctor asked me to describe my evening activities before going to bed.
At the very end I said, “...and I watch the ten o’clock News before I turn in.” 
“Don’t do that!” she said. ‘If you really know the news and think you can change things, read the morning newspaper, but go to bed without the negative thoughts delivered by Ten O'clock News.” 
Have I not slept better since following her advice? Sometimes. Not always.

News!
I could continue with Fake News and give those souls who create fake news more exposure than the lies they create warrant.

News!
Other than helping us not repeat the past, news has little merit other than to steal sleep from those who sit in their living rooms, watching the television, those who will never make the News but continue to wish they could.