‘Would it help?’ – a passing thought about confidence, class and the news

Image: Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance in Bridge of Spies (2015, dir. Steven Spielberg).

I think about this quote from Bridge of Spies a lot. It’s a perfect encapsulation of stoicism – don’t worry about what you can’t control. This is, of course, easier said than done. However, these days I’m finding myself turning away from the news (about you-know-who, and the other one too) because it’s upsetting. And this might sound fatalistic but, for 99% of the issues involved, I can’t do anything that would have any effect. So why expose myself to it… would it help?

I know people who will consume the news and say things like, “Have you heard what he’s done now?!” And I must admit, most of the time I just don’t want to know. However, I also understand that many people feel a sort of moral duty to know ‘what he’s done now’.

So – is it bad to plug your ears and go ‘la la la, I’m not listening’ against a barrage of stupidity? Or should we expose ourselves to it, because it’s important to know, even if we can’t do anything?

I suppose the real answer is that it’s important to know enough, so that any opportunity that comes up to make even a small improvement to someone’s life can be taken. If the answer to ‘would it help?’ is ‘well, maybe, a bit’, then we need to unplug our ears.