discouraging times

It's getting harder and harder to watch the news. Not least because there's often very little "news" and way too much "infotainment", mostly consisting of the inane opinions of news commentators or editorializing by management decree.

I haven't helped my discouraged mood at all by reading Susan Jacoby's "The Age of American Unreason". It's a good book, though, with some sound analysis of the "infotainment" issue, among other things. Ultimately, finding ways to encourage rational thought is the true issue, and I'm not sure there's a ready solution.

Most of us have fallen at least part way into the trap of lazy-mindedness. I don't exclude myself.