Ostriches don’t put their head in the sand – let’s be clear on that. The phrase does endure and represents a behavior of ignoring the problems around you. I am proposing (for the sake of argument), that this is not such a bad thing.
Sometimes I think it would be far easier to be more pleasant if I could ignore the news. Wouldn’t life be easier if we could just confine our concerns to our home, our work, maybe throw in a school or sports team and forget about the how the price of food is causing wide-spread hunger and starvation?
The problem I run into is trying to figure out causes and solutions to problems and realizing that I am nearly powerless in the grand scheme of things to change them. I could ride my bike instead of using my car and decrease global warming by a one-googleth and at the same time if there was a longer-term approach to decision-making by our country’s leaders, they could change things quickly by whole percentage points.
You are no doubt saying to yourself, “Is the reason things like this bother you is that you are not doing much to change them?” You might advise me to work toward change and then news that our governmental debt, deficit, and trade imbalance would not make me worry about my children’s future.
This may be true, when I hear reports of problems and they result of bad decision-making, I could work for change but I guess my perception of undertaking this activity would that it would be ten times more frustrating than doing nothing. I really don’t think my voice would make a difference relative to 100’s of lobbyists and millions in campaign contributions.
Life is too short to spend it banging your head against the wall. The easier solution is to worry about your family and your work and forget about bigger problems. I need to concern myself with getting enough security/money/wealth/safety/health under my roof and then the national debt won’t affect me as much because I got enough money. It’s better to remain ignorant of problems I can’t control or impact. Just focus your attention on tomorrow’s weather forecast and then refrain from exposing yourself to whatever else the media may produce. The more information you have the more it brings you down. Unless you are powerful or prepared to dramatically simplify your life, dwelling on the world’s big problems will just make you unhappy.
If problems creep into your existence like high gas prices, you do your best to address it by using less gas. Don’t try to lobby for the development of alternative fuels or increasing the refining capacity – use less gas. If higher food prices are getting to you buy less beef and more chicken but don’t get wrapped up into the value of ethanol or economics of agriculture – you’re just asking for trouble.
Set up a metaphorical life support system underground and keep your head in the sand.
