December 30, 2016 at 5:47 p.m.
Advice: Put the headlines aside
Editorial
Ever heard of Steven Pinker?
Probably not.
But he has a message that’s worth hearing as we wind down 2016 and move forward toward 2017.
Pinker is the author of a book entitled “The Better Angels of Our Nature,” and his constant reminder in these crazy times is that we need to focus on “the trendlines, not the headlines.”
What does he mean by that?
In a recent interview on the website Vox, Pinker spelled out how our constant focus on the headlines — what happened today and yesterday, what was sensational and scary — can obscure a real understanding of the state of the world we live in.
Here’s a sample: “Look at history and data, not headlines. The world continues to improve in just about every way. Extreme poverty, child mortality, illiteracy, and global inequality are at historic lows; vaccinations, basic education, including girls, and democracy are at all-time highs.”
Okay, you say, the guy’s a Pollyanna.
What about wars around the world? “War deaths have risen since 2011 because of the Syrian civil war, but are a fraction of the levels of the 1950s through the early 1990s, when megadeath wars and genocides raged all over the world. Colombia’s peace deal marks the end of the last war in the Western Hemisphere, and the last remnant of the Cold War,” said Pinker.
What about crime? Fort Wayne has had a lousy year, and Chicago was a mess over Christmas.
Pinker: “Homicide rates in the world are falling, and the rate in United States is lower than at any time between 1966 and 2009.”
Terrorism? Pinker: “Outside of war zones, terrorist deaths are far lower than they were in the heyday of the Weathermen, IRA, and Red Brigades.”
His argument — boiled down — is essentially that we shouldn’t allow the latest bit of troubling news to rattle our sense of perspective.
Even in the face of scary events, it’s important to take a few steps back and consider things in terms of history.
And that’s a New Year’s lesson worth remembering. — J.R.
Probably not.
But he has a message that’s worth hearing as we wind down 2016 and move forward toward 2017.
Pinker is the author of a book entitled “The Better Angels of Our Nature,” and his constant reminder in these crazy times is that we need to focus on “the trendlines, not the headlines.”
What does he mean by that?
In a recent interview on the website Vox, Pinker spelled out how our constant focus on the headlines — what happened today and yesterday, what was sensational and scary — can obscure a real understanding of the state of the world we live in.
Here’s a sample: “Look at history and data, not headlines. The world continues to improve in just about every way. Extreme poverty, child mortality, illiteracy, and global inequality are at historic lows; vaccinations, basic education, including girls, and democracy are at all-time highs.”
Okay, you say, the guy’s a Pollyanna.
What about wars around the world? “War deaths have risen since 2011 because of the Syrian civil war, but are a fraction of the levels of the 1950s through the early 1990s, when megadeath wars and genocides raged all over the world. Colombia’s peace deal marks the end of the last war in the Western Hemisphere, and the last remnant of the Cold War,” said Pinker.
What about crime? Fort Wayne has had a lousy year, and Chicago was a mess over Christmas.
Pinker: “Homicide rates in the world are falling, and the rate in United States is lower than at any time between 1966 and 2009.”
Terrorism? Pinker: “Outside of war zones, terrorist deaths are far lower than they were in the heyday of the Weathermen, IRA, and Red Brigades.”
His argument — boiled down — is essentially that we shouldn’t allow the latest bit of troubling news to rattle our sense of perspective.
Even in the face of scary events, it’s important to take a few steps back and consider things in terms of history.
And that’s a New Year’s lesson worth remembering. — J.R.
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD