Madd Thoughts

Thoughts. What to think. What do people want me to think? What is it "they" are trying to make me think? Everything can be said in a way that sways thought or decision. Two people can describe a scene in two totally different ways that can make you think of the scene completely different. I don't liike my thoughts being manipulated, but they are manipulated daily. Our thoughts are manipulated from birth. Is this bad? Perhaps not. Perhaps in order to be a part of society, our thoughts must be manipulated. But to what extent and when should it stop?

Every news article I read or broadcast I hear or see, can be picked apart and reworded to give an entirely different 'feel.' Case in point :

"A teenager was runover and killed today while trying to catch a bus."
or
"A gun weilding man was killed today after the bus ran him over while the driver attempted to escape a bus-jacking incident."

Both these reports could be the same incident. The "man" is 18; still a teenager, but the feel is totally different. As a "teenager" he is not yet an adult and does not seem as responsible. The first statement sounds as though he was attempting to ride the bus and perhaps got in the way, or the bus driver was incompetent. The second statement not only has more information (gun weilding) but has a different feel just with the designation that it was a "man" instead of "teenager". Yet this man is also 18 (an adult) yet still technically a teenager - being eighTEEN. Here he was trying to catch the bus, but you understand it was for an illegal or harmful purpose. You no longer feel as badly for the man, as he was attempting to do harm. However, in the first statement, this person could have been attempting to do harm also, yet becuase of hte way it is reported, you have more compassion and have a different feel for the story and the person.

These may be extreme examples, but listen. Just listen to what people are really telling you. Listen to the facts and ask yourself if the facts were stated differently, would the story be different? What is the reporter leaving out? What has the reporter embellished for his or her viewpoint? What words has the reporter used to convey his or her viewpoint. Is that your viewpoint? Do you really have all the information?

Listen with your ears but mostly listen with your brain, your heart, your common sense, and your innate intelligence. Listen. Listen. Listen and descern.