Some people get a little concerned when I tell them I watch Al Jazeera for my news. There are a few reasons I've chosen Al Jazeera: (1) I appreciate the world news focus rather than the obsession with finding some "fascinating" or controversial aspect of American news. There's enough Real Stuff going on in the world without trying to dig up something trivial and call it "relevant" (2) It's free via our satellite dish (3) Entertainment and sport are also from a world perspective rather than American. That is good enough criteria for me.
The people who are concerned that I am getting my news from Al Jazeera are worried that I am getting my news from a liberal, and well, ahem, Arab news source. Isn't it at all a teensy bit possible that I could find myself brainwashed by Those People? I'm not quite sure if their concern is more over the liberal or the Arab aspect. As for the former, I've long been open-minded and don't see that changing. And the latter? Anyone with a basic grounding in world history knows that the Arab world is nothing to fear, despite what World Nut Daily or Pat Robertson says. Besides that (shhh, don't tell anyone) you may not have noticed it but I was born in a country the EU repeatedly tries to say is...well..Arab. Despite the fact that 3% is in Europe and the other 97% is in Asia.
What they don't seem to understand, and the United States news channels have excelled at selling, is that I don't watch the news or read a news site to be told what to think. I want to know what has happened. Period. Was there a bombing? A natural disaster? Has a world leader changed or been elected? I don't care if the news station thinks anything about these events, I'll do that for myself. I watch and read from a variety of sources...NHK, The Jerusalem Post, Arutz 7, Today's Zaman, CCTV, DW, IBA...to name a few. So I get a few different opinions about each matter. But see, I don't check out the news because I want to get riled up or disturbed about something. I don't watch the news because I want some television personality to agree with my views. I know what I think and I don't need Glenn Beck, Anderson Cooper, Keith Olberman or Jorge Ramos to think for me. I don't read online news sites so that I can regurgitate some "facts" presented to support a bias. That doesn't do anything good. I just want to know what's going on in the world so I can try to make my corner a little better with kindness, compassion and peace.
I would encourage everyone to become aware of the world by reading histories, meeting people from all over, learning geography and getting rid of biases in favour of facts. Don't take the word of some news presenter, talk radio host or columnist. Find out the facts and make up your own mind. Please don't be a tool in someone else's agenda! Be a free-thinking master of your own life.
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