Too much
The Queensland floods, the Victoria floods, Cyclone Yasi, the Perth bushfires and now another earthquake hits Christchurch in New Zealand. It’s just too much. And these are only the disasters more specific to our part of the world. It is becoming the norm for television news in Australia to have constant coverage of whichever disaster is currently occurring. The same stories are repeated in an endless loop, along with the same horrifying video footage. And it’s just too much. I read the news this morning when I got up, not long after it occurred. But I couldn’t bear to watch the news on the television this morning. I thought I would just wait and watch it on the evening news. When evening rolled around, I still wasn’t ready to watch and I’m not sure when I will be ready. I’ve just been checking online news sources so far and I think that’s as much as I can take right now. Six weeks ago today, it was all that I could find to watch on local television as I lay in a hospital bed after having my gallbladder surgery. I remember feeling it was so difficult to watch and so difficult to not watch. But after weeks of one disaster after another, it’s just too much.
2 Comments
Valerie
I hear you. I’m about burned out on US politics, too, from the sheer endless viciousness of it all. I’m very conflicted about that, because I think it’s my responsibility as a citizen of a free society to follow the news and help oversee the government. But following the news lately is so unpleasant that I really wish I wasn’t following it. Sigh….
Purple Lorikeet
Yes, politics seems to be viscious in recent years and shows no signs of improving. I do hear bits and pieces from back home but it’s good not to have the full force of it. We have enough of it from local politics anyway. I find I get most of my news online these days but we often will watch one or another news program in the evening.
A well-known Australian comedian posted on twitter yesterday that he turned on the tv for information about the earthquake but had to turn it off because he was so traumatised. I was already feeling a bit like that without watching so I think my decision to avoid it is the right one for now.