What's New? Nothing Good.

I read the headline, "Massachusetts Man Fatally Shoots Neighbor, Dog and Himself" and burst into tears. That poor dog -- what the heck did he do to deserve that? Reading further, I learned that the man also shot three little kids hiding in a bedroom. They survived but are in the hospital, one in critical condition, their mommy and doggie gone forever.

Listen, I want to know why that's considered to be news. The Hawaii wildfires and resulting fatalities are certainly news since it was a horrific natural disaster, one that is apt to be repeated in the future so we should all pay attention and learn how to prepare. But having a crazy neighbor burst into your apartment and shoot you, your three kids and your dog will likely never happen to you, so why do we need to know it happened somewhere, to someone?

Fear-mongering seems to be the top goal of news purveyors, probably because it attracts the most readers and thus advertising dollars. To that end, every rainstorm is potentially life-threatening, with high winds and damaging hail. Stay indoors, the heat will kill you like it killed these other people. Looters are everywhere so don't go into a convenience store. Stay away from shopping malls, schools, outdoor concerts and Nordstrom's. Even little kids get their hands on guns and will shoot you on purpose, like the six-year-old boy who brought a gun to school and shot his teacher a while back, saying the day before, "I'm gonna kill that bitch." (How nice.)

I suppose it's best to not read the news at all if you hope to remain in a good mood. My friend Debra told me that constantly and she took her own advice, avoiding all of it as best she could despite having a husband addicted to TV pundits talking politics. Debra was always in a good mood. Then one day her wonderful, good mood life was ended in an instant by an oncoming semi. So I guess anything can get you, including six-year-olds and crazy neighbors, although my best advice is never try to cross the path of a speeding Freightliner.