Getting off the information grid

Although he's not a Buddhist or Taoist, my friend Ron has adopted some of the practices of Cold Mountain. He lives in a fairly isolated semi-rural part of the city, in a small, exceptionally simple space. He is not off the grid completely, but he's working toward it.

Ron has not only mostly unplugged himself from the utility grid, he has also largely disconnected from the 'information grid.'

"I used to be angry all the time," he told me. "Finally, I decided I had to quit listening to that stuff. I know how things are already. I don't have to listen to it every minute of the day."

I still read a couple of news web sites and political blogs, but basically I agree with Ron. Being a 'news junkie' in today's information climate is a good way to keep your blood pressure elevated all day.

It's not just the content itself. It's also the way information is presented, especially by the broadcast media. On the political/opinion front, there's a constant appeal to anger and outrage — not to mention paranoia. On the news front, everything is sensationalized and exaggerated, and much of it appeals to fear. This used to be unique to local news, but now it's spread to the national level as well.

If you're my age, you can remember when news discussion shows were a] rare and b] almost insufferably sedate and boring. They're still boring, but now it's because they're everywhere and the format is usually three or four pundits sputtering and yelling to be heard over each other. The result is often literally unintelligible.

There are also the annoying 'narratives' put forth by the Washington insiders liberal bloggers have come to call 'the Villagers' - the circle of friends who decide at cocktail parties what their view of current events is, then go on television and chat about their consensus as if it were fact.

News and political blogs don't seem to be much better. Being a liberal myself, I read liberal blogs, and get some useful information from the top-level posts. But the comments are usually insipid and useless. A message that says, "Goddamn rethugs! Impeach 'em all!" doesn't help me a bit.

Then there's the worthless 'celebrity news,' about which I have commented in the past.

I don't think a person can expose himself or herself to this constant din and stay centered and calm for very long.

My suggestion is to try unplugging for a week. Turn off the cable news and skip past the blogs (but not this one, of course). If my own experience is any indicator, you won't feel as if you're hopelessly out of the loop, but you will your feel temper cooling down.