News and current affairs, what can we do?

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When engaging in conversations about what is going on in the world I am never able to make a contribution on every topic. Although I take an interest in the news I do not make an effort to know what’s happening on a daily basis. People may have their views on this, my dad for one finds it extraordinarily frustrating. About once a week I click around on the internet for a quick catch up on anything the radio may have missed between songs. If someone mentions something I know nothing about I’ll usually make the effort to catch up if it sounds interesting or important. People always make comments about the things “you should know” but do they think about the things you should do now you know? What good is it to know everything and do nothing about anything?

I think it would be great if there was a section on the news called “how can we help?” without always asking for monitory donations this segment would discuss how we can create change on a grass roots level. Cup cake stalls, letter box drops, donating a bit of our time here and there. On Sunrise the other day they were harping on about the need for abused and neglected children who have been removed and placed into foster care to receive “real care” as apposed the “care” children in foster care currently receive. This would have been the perfect time for them to discuss foster care and thank carers who have already juggled their lives to include a fostered child into their family. Instead they moved on to the next topic. Grr! As someone working in Out-of-Home Care I found this offensive. Their passing comment implied that the care currently being provided by carers isn’t up to an adequate standard. This is an incredibly distorted view of what is really going on. The simple fact is there are not enough registered carers for the number of children who require “real care” because people are watching their news shows and doing nothing in response. Carers are ordinary people doing something extraordinary! They open their hearts, their homes and in the majority of situations their pockets. Children in care are simply children, they require food, a warm bed, baths, patience and love just like any other child. Confidentiality legislation protects these children from being plastered on the news with pictures attached to tug our heart strings like a homeless puppy but they still exist in numbers and require loving homes.

Some people are responding to the news. An abused cat has attracted roughly $6000 worth of donations as it was featured all over current affair shows last week. Six thousand dollars! My opinion is that people only want to hear “the news” if they can sit comfortably sipping their tea and shift the blame, so they can continue on with their lives. The people who abused the cat are labeled as society’s sickest. People wrote in and stated they should be jailed publicly shamed. What if they were abused kids? What if they were burnt and tortured? Would our reaction still be the same? I am not saying it is ok for anyone to behave in this manner but it has to come from somewhere. A fat lot of good watching and playing the blame game is going to do anyone.

I am not saying don’t watch the news. I just think people should try act in response to the issues as well. I think we should watch and consider what part we play in allowing all these things to keep happening. Where do we fit into the system which can’t prevent kids being abused in or out of care, can't provide enough medical assistance in hospitals, allows people to be mugged and bashed as they eat their lunch? They’re the issues touched on today in Sydney alone, I’m not even going to start on where we fit into the bigger picture. So when you do tune into the news rather than just watching maybe start thinking “how can I help?”. Thinking about it is the first step, acting on it is the vital one. I know since writing this I’ll definitely try think and act more.