I would
like to show how to read news both critically and positively.
1. Critically because even a long
article from a serious source is usually only one side of a story. So reading
comments from various people is enlightening as they point various flaws, add
missing information and correct baseless assumptions.
According
to this article, lack of play is turning children into low-empathy narcissists
with stunted creativity. http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human/children-today-are-suffering-a-severe-deficit-of-play
The author
links the decrease of children freedom to the observed increase in mental
disorders like depression and suicides in the second half of 20th century. The biggest
lesson I want to remember is that actively teaching something to children is
not desirable. Rather children should be encouraged to learn by themselves,
mostly through play. Children need mentors rather than teachers, and learn from
example rather than punishment and fear.
The next
link is both very upsetting and puzzling. My feelings switched from horror to
anger when reading the physical and psychological torture that some prisoners
endure right now in Russia.
A glimpse
into the comments put back the emotions into the broader picture of human rights’
violations which aren’t really limited to Russia. Unfortunately news about USA
jails depicted as sweat shops and recent stories of whistle blowers being
incarcerated for life have not really left any hope that the ”West” is actually
fighting for freedom.
Hence blaming Russia and asking or a boycott of business relations
or the Olympic Games (as was suggested due to serious attack against homosexual
people) jump to mind, but is this really efficient? Aren’t ordinary peaceful citizens
unnecessarily deprived by such actions?
China is the most populated dictator
state in the world; it executes many human beings regularly, forbids freedom,
pollutes heavily the atmosphere that we all share and breathe from and is well known
for widespread animal abuse. Yet the computer I’m writing with now is probably
mostly made in China, just as so many of our everyday objects.
I can
easily refuse to buy a TV made in China to watch the Russian Olympic Games
sponsored by sport brands that have their clothes & shoes made in
Bangladeshi factories. Instead I’ll walk the forest and pick wild food or play
with friends.
xx