Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Reading the Summer Skies

Oil spills. Supreme court hearing. Leaders falling. Goals (soccer, that is) stolen. It's been quite a summer already for the media. And I confess, it's hard not to want to run for cover . . . or to use the newspaper as an umbrella instead and quit reading altogether.

But we need to know, don't we?  If a ban on handguns is lifted, it'd be a good idea to know that, especially during the next road trip we take through the wild west. Or if sedentary lifestyles are fattening the culture and ruining our kid's health—in the summer no less—that information could shorten our grocery lists. Which might be a good thing in this economy anyway.

In other words, the news might be dark, and lightning sure enough will strike, igniting all sorts of information fires. But I reckon it's better to be armed with some sense of life beyond our own doorsteps than to, well, miss the glory and horror of a stormy sky. Reading the clouds—like reading the news—helps us know a little better how to navigate the day, how to care about the next step we take.