Perhaps ignorance isn't bliss, but I certainly live in my own bubble for the majority of time. The recent reports on the Syrian crisis have left me wholly underwhelmed, because my grasp on current affairs is a kin to the lack of understanding I have around the joy of calorie counting, or why a spin class would be an enjoyable experience.
It isn't a trait I find attractive about myself, or indeed something I am proud of, but politics and economics just don't sit right amongst the glitter, cat memes and music lyrics stored in my grey matter.
I don't believe it makes me any less intelligent; just because I can't muster a controversial or well- thought out opinion on the current state of the government doesn't mean my IQ is down in the negatives. Instead, I'd rather not make a massive tit of myself by pretending to know what the hell the 'Miranda' scandal is (I only looked at the hashtag on twitter because I thought it would be something to do with the highly acclaimed BBC comedy series). I understand how basic government works, explained to me by a rather patient friend over tea and biscuits one afternoon, when we should have been revising, and I understand why people might find certain political workings flawed. I've read 1984, I've watched V for Vendetta. I get the extremities of dystopian notions- and the undercurrents they were based upon. I understand and comprehend the unfortunate 20th century history. I know why people care, and why people fight and speak out against the way the government sometimes works.
I do not lack aspiration, it's not simply the small town girl in me trying to continue life that way- I'm not satisfied by the possibility of living life revolving around going back to my hometown and working the 9-5. But I also live a happy little life.
I hear you cry "If you don't care- who will?". That's true. It's not a lack of caring. I just think that a lot of journalism these days is sensationalized, and depressing. We are barely exposed to the positivity of human life. We're almost immune to disaster and scandal because we're consumed by it. In school, we're taught how to find x from y, why 'i' comes before 'e' and the importance of a semi-colon. We're cotton balled from the real world of politics.
I don't blame my ignorance on anyone but myself, but I think journalism needs to be more accessible, and varied. I love sites like UpWorthy and BuzzFeed, because the way they speak to me aren't patronizing and assuming. There is a generation, like myself, who care less and less about issues which, thirty years ago would have halted everything, because we're expected to have former knowledge. Of course it's kind of easy to find it all for yourself, but by the time you understand a small history of North Korea, it's already old news.
I hear you cry "If you don't care- who will?". That's true. It's not a lack of caring. I just think that a lot of journalism these days is sensationalized, and depressing. We are barely exposed to the positivity of human life. We're almost immune to disaster and scandal because we're consumed by it. In school, we're taught how to find x from y, why 'i' comes before 'e' and the importance of a semi-colon. We're cotton balled from the real world of politics.
I don't blame my ignorance on anyone but myself, but I think journalism needs to be more accessible, and varied. I love sites like UpWorthy and BuzzFeed, because the way they speak to me aren't patronizing and assuming. There is a generation, like myself, who care less and less about issues which, thirty years ago would have halted everything, because we're expected to have former knowledge. Of course it's kind of easy to find it all for yourself, but by the time you understand a small history of North Korea, it's already old news.
Is it just me? Shall I shush back down in the corner with my videos of kittens? Perhaps.
