Think Happy Thoughts?

Barring nuclear war or your winning of the lottery (had you purchased a ticket), the so-called "news" is literal poison for your brain. "Don't drink it in anymore," I tell myself daily. And I try, believe me, I try: The growing pile of home-delivered newspapers remains unread before filling the recycling bin, and the hulking TV, in the den with the litter box, is merely a conduit for old Netflix movies and weather reports when skies look  threatening. Still the sorry mess seeps in via Facebook, where I log on to play Words With Friends and to post this very blog. Even though I stop by for just moments,  it's enough to zap me.

This morning I learned from the "Trending" list on the right side of my home page that a young woman survived a violent sexual attack in her own home after being stabbed 17 times, and another woman was found buried in a shallow grave after having been at a party and gone missing for four days, during which she had been murdered and stuffed in a closet in the party house.

On a purely personal level, I'm pissed. I had been having a disturbing dream, a toxic brew likely concocted from news stories such as the two mentioned above, and even though it is delicious sleeping weather, finally, here in Maine, with temps in the low 50s, and even though it is a Saturday and I have nowhere to be and nothing to do, I struggled awake to escape the horror show inside my head, only to stumble onto more of the same when I had hoped to see what's up with my son and perhaps take a turn at Scrabble.

Why do they insist on telling us these things? What purpose does it serve? Discuss.