There are times especially as of late I have felt as if I’ve stepped into a dystopian novel, and this week as I’m deep into research for next week's blog I found myself going back through my blogs right to the beginning of the pandemic, you know when all this craziness began. I did this for two reasons: 1) because in the beginning, even though the numbers never added up, it was important for me to figure out why I wasn’t asking more questions and 2) exactly where my head was. This blog was written June 1, 2020, but as I reread it, I feel it’s more pertinent than ever. Remember to ask questions, don’t always believe the narrative, and ask yourself how many decades has it been since real journalism happened.

Is living in fear the answer?

My kids have told me very matter-of-factly for going on ten days now, I believe, to stop watching the news—all of it. I’ve been instructed not to turn on the TV for updates from any news stations, not to check the daily updates from the government on the internet, and not to read or listen to all the news stations and leaders talking about anything to do with this craziness going on. Why? Because without my knowledge, even when I wasn’t sitting in front of the TV, the daily updates steeped in doom and gloom and fear were actually starting to have an effect on me.

It began to affect my writing, my productivity, my good night’s sleep, because sensationalism, which has become the norm in news and reporting, is meant to scare the pants off you and get a rise out of you. Are all the facts being reported? Everyone can argue on the facts, but when you start asking yourself questions and then start asking questions of those in charge, either you’re going to get answers or you’re going to be blown off with some line about how those in charge know more, which is meant to subdue the masses and appease you. Well, no. Everyone has the right to ask questions. I’ve taught my kids this.

Now let me ask you a question that was asked of me a few weeks ago. If you were given a life-threatening diagnosis from a doctor, would you just accept what he or she said, or would you go and get two or three or four different doctors’ opinions? Would you not do your own research? I would.

Not everyone is going to handle things the same way, but I would never take one doctor’s word for something, because they do make mistakes. They may not give you all the information or might say, “I know best. Listen to me.” But that steps on the toes of free will, and not every professional is going to agree on the same course of treatment. This isn’t about leaders everywhere; this is about the facts now being reported everywhere every day. When you turn on a news station and unknowingly start to feel outrage, anger, fear, all those heightened emotions that are meant to get a rise out of you, you may want to ask yourself, “What’s that about?”

Even though I now have no idea of the state of things as they’re being reported, I can honestly tell you that having a good night’s sleep and being able to work without that doom and gloom and fear hanging over my head, without worrying about what’s going to happen to my kids and the rest of the world, makes me feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. When you’re watching the news, any station, how often do you feel drawn into those heightened emotions, the horror, the fear, the outrage? When did journalism abandon its mission of reporting all the objective facts?

How am I feeling right now? Fantastic, happy, rested, productive. I have searched out information from credible sources—you know, the ones the media doesn’t use. Because I don’t remember the last time I turned on the news to find that they were questioning the validity of their sources and doing real journalism, digging for the truth and actually reporting on it. I don’t know about you, but I do know, from the people around me and my community, that living in fear is never the answer.

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Reine Colbert returns in Broken Promises