By 
Ever wonder why the news is so depressing and alarming?
How much is the actual events, the facts, and how much is the way it’s presented?
And by presented I mean skewed, hedged, shaded, edited, colored, highlighted, distorted, misrepresented, misinterpreted, and deformed.
“The story.”
The emphasis on the “Controversy.”
For example, there was a headline in an article: “Is Father’s Day Passé?”
And the tagline under that was: “Survey finds that a quarter of us don’t want to spend the day with dad”.
LET’S SAVE ON CARDS AND TIES AND SLIPPERS?
It was about a study, one study, with no information on how big a survey or how statistically valid it was, that showed that less than 25% of adults did not want to spend time with their fathers.
The article failed to go into why they didn’t want to spend time with Pops.
Or if they actually avoided their father, or simply didn’t want to see him, but did anyway, because family is important even though they’d rather be wind surfing or whatever.
It did say that it was less than 25%.
No information on how much less than 25% it was. Hey, 3% is less than 25%.
What sets me off is that it’s focused on the negative. On the glass being half-empty. Or in this case, less than 25% empty.
How About The Good News!?
The headline could have been, “Father’s Day Is Very Important To The Vast Majority!”
Survey finds almost more than three quarters of us want to spend the day with our fathers.”
Sounds way more upbeat doesn’t it? And warm too. Perhaps because I used ‘us’ and ‘our father’.
The funny thing was that the article that followed the headline was actually kind of heartwarming– how we don’t really know as much about our fathers as we would like.
In other words, it was about Father’s Day being a terrific opportunity.
But of course the negative headline, the suggestion that we should drop a holiday that honors the man who gave us our life, sounds controversial. Disheartening.
To me anyway. And naturally I had to read it.
IT’S JUST ONE DAY
Maybe I’m making too much of this. I tend to do that.
I mean, I know Father’s Day and Mother’s Day were invented by greeting card companies. That doesn’t mean we can’t make it meaningful and wonderful, right?
The vast majority want to spend time with our fathers. That’s amazing. Could you say that about the people you work with? Do you want to spend time with ¾ of the people at work?
Well, whatever you choose to do, the good thing is, you get to choose.
Many more of us don’t have that choice any more.
For me, this year is the 25th anniversary of not having Dad here for Father’s Day.
I was lucky to know him. My kids never did.
The pain is less, but every year there are more things I wish I could tell him, show him, or share with him. And none of it would be negative.
Best,
Rick
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Thanks, Rick–I too have a great relationship with my dad, and am thankful that I still have him around. And I would be part of the “almost more than three quarters” who want to spend time with him. And my kids have already expressed as much to me (of course they don’t have a choice–they’re still under my roof…). Even though you aren’t my dad, Happy Father’s Day!
-Rick
Some see the glass half-full. Some see it half-empty. The media sees someone peeing in it.
The great thing is that your kids know their Dad!
good point Rick!
That was lovely, Rick.
Excellent way to look at a headline. Thanks for reminding me the importance of seeing something from positive point of view.
Thank you for the kind words.
The thing I’ve come to see is that you can find something positive in anything.
Every time I hear someone saying something ignorant about ADHD, it’s an opportunity for me to make a difference. And it’s a reminder that there is hope and that this misunderstood ‘disorder’ is not what people assume it is… whether they assume it’s a joke, or the opposite, the curse of doom.