Blog #10 by novelist Jeremy Logan — WE’RE IN GOOD HANDS

Blog #10 by novelist Jeremy Logan -- WE'RE IN GOOD HANDS
JeremyLoganBooks.com

Despite the Headlines, We're Going to be in Good Hands

             We are constantly hearing it on the news, or in the beauty salon and grocery, "What is the world coming to?"  I suggest there is no need to worry.  We're heading to a better place.  Turn off the TV and radio news and talk shows. These sources are projecting a distorted picture of the world.  Three significant distortions are taking place under our noses without our recognition of what's happening: (1) Atrocities that occurred before the advent of the 24-hour news cycle (circa 1990) never reached our ears or eyes; (2) Opinions have replaced facts in the news of the day, and (3) In today's "if it bleeds it leads" broadcasts the competition for viewers/listeners/readers has changed the programming from newsworthy to entertainment-worthy.

The filters of the golden age of entertainment (1950 to 1990) are not the same in today's world.  What used to reach the headlines has changed because of our thirst for gristly details, gore and scandal. Gone are the days when our heroes were able to hide their dalliances.  Jack was an adulterer, Mickey was an alcoholic, but those stories never reached the media until their passing.  I am not saying that a fraud was or is being perpetrated.  All I am saying is that we are now more aware of the flaws in humanity.  Just because the awareness has been raised doesn't mean there is more of it.  It is my suspicion that the opposite is true. Now that we are more aware of everything eventually coming out, we are more careful and circumspect.  That's just an opinion, not a fact.

So, what is the real point of this blog?  Don't get discouraged about the fate of our children or the world they will be living in.  They're in good hands -- their own.  While we lament things like: the end of the written word.  Just because we see our children texting doesn't mean they are losing their ability to write.  They have merely added a new skill.  My habits are a perfect example.  I put down the pen and ink when I was in my twenties.  I can still write in cursive, but I am less patient with my penmanship.  I have gotten so used to typing sixty words a minute with spell check that I don't take the time to write legibly in longhand.  I haven't lost the skill, I just get frustrated that it takes so long to do it well.

The world is not going to hell in a hand basket.  Those of us over the age of forty have to get used to the fact that the world we live in today is so much faster than the world we thrived in when we were young.  Our children are more equipped to deal with the propaganda and bullshit of today than we are.  If we did our job decently well as parents, not only will our kids be okay, they will improve the world we lived in.

Those of us that strive to be commercially successful authors have an obligation to paint pictures that are filled with honesty.  If we do that all will work out well.  We should also see the world we live in with honesty.  By that I mean that we must learn to strip off our biases, prejudices and fears.  By doing so we throw off the weights that have been holding us back.  We become free to find the right words to tell our stories, and our readers will know it.

Have a great day, it'll be alright.

 

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