So depressing

A couple of these posts seem to hit the nail on the head. News of events in other countries once took days or even months to spread across the world. Nowadays, it is in people's sitting rooms and on their computers, televisions and radios within seconds. Graphic images, although mercifully not the actual beheading of the American journalist, are served up over the teacups.

Dramatic news is what sells the newspapers and television programmes and drama is often, almost invariably, something horrible, violent and, clearly from the posts above, distressing. Acts of kindness, generosity, self-denial and compassion are usually quieter, smaller and less dramatic. Consequently, they rarely make the news headlines. On the few occasions when they do, they seem as if they are rare exceptions.

Good post Absent and I agree.
There have always been awful news items, wars, carnage, but it's never been in our face before like it is now.Is it actually any worse now than it's always been? I think we forget all the past atrocities, earthquakes, floods and famines because new ones are constantly placed before us .
Rolling news means the same news endlessly flashing past at us.Look, it screams, more misery here! So, don't look, not all the time, because if you take in a constant stream of human misery, and you can't do anything about it, it must cause depression.
There's a quote by somebody, about not looking 'into the abyss' for too long, because after a while something may start looking back at you.

I remember my Dear MIL, all those years ago saying to me:-

"I don"t watch the news dear, it is so depressing, so perhaps some things never change!.

Hey All take a look at this

www.goodnewsnetwork.org/

rockgran

Misery overload!

An that can also bring about saturation point where people just become de-sensitised to it all and end up thinking 'oh, another war, nothing new there then'.

The news often seems more like an obituary column at times!

We have been watching Great War diaries on Saturday evenings, and these graphically portray the horrors of the trenches, the terror of the shell shocked, the young girls sweetheart (German) killed in a training exercise (flying) and the ethnic cleansing of the Armenians - so yes, t'was ever thus! but as has been said, news took time to filter through particularly in those days, whereas today it is almost instantly on the TV screen and into our living rooms, making it feel as if we are almost present and should be able to do something to stop it all.

I have watched none of the programmes about the war anniversary - I do not need to - I can imagine well enough.

To me the most upsetting thing currently is the fact that differing religions don't appear to tolerate one another. I know it is something that has gone on through the centuries and is the major cause of many wars. I find it incomprehensible that we can't be left to follow our own religion without others feeling the need to interfere. I also can't believe there is any true faith perpetuating mans cruelty to man.

I can assure you mishap that we don't watch programmes about WW1 for ghoulish reasons! Both our grandfathers fought in that war, one, although mildly shell shocked and gassed, surviving in the Infantry from 1915-19, the other was in the Life Guards and killed in1918. This, for us, makes understanding of what our relatives went through at this time, of interest. Combined with WW2, where again I lost my father, makes us both realise that that particular slippery slope is to be avoided as far as is humanly possible - on the other hand there can come a point when evil is SO prevalent and SO threatening that it just can't be ignored.

It seems possible that the new drug they are trying out against Ebola is working. The two medics treated with it got better, but the priest, also treated, sadly died.

IS - sickening. God help the Americans as they try to deal with it.

Ukraine, Syria. Heartbreaking.

The majority do show empathy towards the ones suffering.

Can't go along with including animals in with the horrible tragedies happening to the human race.

I can!

Yes. You can.

I wasn't suggesting for a minute that you (or anyone else who watches these programmes) is ghoulish niggly - just saying that I choose to give them a miss.

Fair enough Mishap! We can agree to differ here and leave it at that.
Cruelty to animals for me is just another example of the barbarity of the human race to it's fellow occupants of this planet and equally depressing and upsetting. But then I am a great animal lover and probably out on a limb on this thread.

Cruelty to animals for me is just another example of the barbarity of the human race to it's fellow occupants of this planet and equally depressing and upsetting. But then I am a great animal lover and probably out on a limb on this thread.

I like your terminology nigglynellie. One group of 6-8 year olds I had, I asked them to bring in good quality pictures of wild animals (and domestic too) and we made a poster entitled 'It's Our World Too' - the Wildlife Park heard of this and invited us along - the press turned up to take photographs of the children and their poster (which was given to the Wildlife Park and hung on their wall).

What a lovely project for your young group to participate in Holly Daze, and what a brilliant outcome! It is generally thought that cruelty to animals can lead swiftly to cruelty to humans and any tendency's in that direction need addressing very early on in a child's life.

Nigglynellie, I'm with you in believing that cruelty to animals all to often goes hand in hand with cruelty to people. Children who show signs of cruelty to animals need the most positive interventions we can find.

Yes, sometimes it does seem to follow a pattern and I'm sure that with proper intervention a potential tragedy can be avoided. I've just been reading about Hamas executing people in Gaza for allegedly spying for Israel - this ghastly 'war' just seems to be going from bad to worse - when will it ever end?

Yes I find TV news so miserable at the moment. Additionally depressing reading Twitter feeds and the appalling comments posted by so many lunatics! Eg. Calling Israelis 'Nazis' completely out of order! And the obsession with posting photos of dead and mangled baby corpses in Gaza!

However, also on my Twitter timeline are videos of ice bucket challenges! Hugely amusing and offset the awful nature of the other. For every dreadful tweet, there are plenty of other clever and amusing takes on the mad world we live in. I usually end my Twitter session with a laugh. Helps keep a sense of proportion.

Four year old Israeli boy killed by a Hamas rocket today. So wrong.

When will 'the lion lay down with lamb
Swords be made into ploughshares
And spears into pruning hooks?
Nation shall not lift sword against nation
Nor shall they make war any more?'