It Takes Time To Sort Truth From Trivial

“There will never be a better world until there are better people in it.” - John White, philosopher

Dear Jennifer: You write about leadership in your column (June 30). Leaders will continue to speak in slogans and gloss over substance as long as the media report and we respond to such trivia. Fluff for news weakens the community.

Another danger, in the lack of sufficient attention to real policy information, is the increased reliance upon sources with a narrow ideological point-of-view. Increased polarization leads to a decline in community.

Perhaps I worry too much. It is entirely likely that within a decade most serious news readers will rely on the Internet for news and analysis. All the shades of thought will be available. Even so, democracy will be undergoing a rather dramatic change - highly individualistic, almost chaotic, in terms of the information upon which decisions are based. - Mark

Dear Mark: Thank you for writing again, I enjoy the dialogue. In defense of the print media, I often read very carefully written and researched articles on policy in newspapers, but they just don’t generate the attention that “trivia” does. We do need to separate out the trivializing media from the rest.

I, too, am startled when I read or hear almost opposite accounts of a political or governmental situation from a writer or commentator, each claiming “truth.” I end up relying on common sense and the evidence of my own experience.

You are right that news sources are stretching to the Internet and that we will develop an increasingly serious and sophisticated dialogue about our world, just in time to rescue us from the increasingly rigid, narrowminded partisan blather. - Jennifer

Dear Rick, (written in answer to Rick July 7) Take heart! I suffered from depression since childhood. I lost my father and did not have a healthy mother as a young child. I grew up feeling lonely and unwanted by relatives.

Recently I divorced and went deeper into depression from the stress. I couldn’t concentrate, I felt unable to function. Prozac helped but I worried about the side effects. My family has a history of manic/ depression.

Reading and my counselor made me realize I had a lowered level of serotonin - a biological imbalance that affects neurological function. Vitamin treatment, rest and diet change have made me feel like new. I now realize what normal thinking is like. Any moments of sadness are now brief and I know they will pass.

Don’t let our disease stop you from having a normal life. It could take more than psychotherapy to make you feel whole again. If you are like me, it is genetic and controllable. It isn’t your fault. - Anne

Dear Anne: Thank you for writing; we’ll pass your letter onto Rick. - Jennifer

Jennifer: Next time you use “wolves” as a metaphor for personal demons, please realize the long history of demonizing the wolf is based partly on the way our language treats these creatures. It’s not about linguistics, it’s about life and death for the wolf. - Dean

Dear Dean: Using a metaphor such as “the hour of the wolf” does not refer to animal demons but to the hours before dawn when the wolf howls. It is the same idea as the morning crow of the rooster at a later hour.

While I agree with you that many words and metaphors do create a harmful consciousness, I do not see that the lion, the eagle or the panda have been saved from endangerment by the positive metaphors that surround their names. The life and death issues are based on greed and/ or ignorance. Changing the language often helps but I disagree with you on this one. - Jennifer

Note to readers: Every year, at my home, my staff and volunteers host a fund-raiser for Childhaven. It’s the best cause in the world, contributing to the mental and physical health of a child in your community. If you would like to join us, please write to us at P.O. Box 337, Seahurst, WA 98062 or fax (206) 243-5543. - Jennifer

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Jennifer James The Spokesman-Review