View from the Cheap Seats

November 30 - December 6, 2015

Unplug

By William O. “Bill” James, Jr.

The world seems to be on fire. Just as I think that things can’t get worse, that is exactly what happens. Even the weather seems to be completely out of control. If it is not flooding somewhere, there are forests burning at biblical levels or tornadoes are leveling houses like they were made out of matchsticks. Everywhere I look there is a cop shooting someone claimed to be innocent of any wrongdoing. At the same time they are investigating the cop, there is someone described as a “militant radical” allegedly shooting a cop for no reason in a neighboring community. Everyone thinks they know exactly what is happening and why. There are no shortage of answers to the problems, just no consensus as to what path will lead us to the solution we are seeking. That doesn’t even take into account the obvious: Most of us are looking for different solutions. Let us not forget the plethora of older women pulling out butcher knives and stabbing random strangers over in the Middle East. I need a break.

Every day, I turn on the television and see a recap of the crazy things that politicians have said over the last 24 hours. I hear the unbelievable claims they have made about what they have done in the past or just some random lie they want us to believe. I can only assume that their hope is that I hear them say it once and then never listen to anything else again. I can’t imagine they want me to ever find out that they are completely full of it. I have to say that I am very impressed with how calmly some of their competitors are when asked about the false claims being made. What is even more amazing is the fact that some of their competitors actually defend the claims or at least acquiesce in the complete falsehood of what has been said out of apparent fear that they may offend some of the crazies that believed the lie when it was first told. I guess the idea is that if they don’t offend the voter, maybe they will get the vote when the lie is exposed. Good luck with that.

Just this morning I saw footage from a Russian plane getting shot down by the government of Turkey. There were claims that the plane had been warned. Russia denies doing anything wrong. I don’t want to be a scaredy-cat, but I would think that Putin would be the last person you want mad at you. We have a lot of politicians that appear to really want to go to war. It is all they talk about. My impression is that no one wants to go to war more than Putin. Do you think that Putin has a problem dropping bombs on Turkey while on the way to Syria to do the very same thing? I don’t. The man scares me and I have only seen him on television.

If you are reading this, I can only assume that we all made it through the Thanksgiving Holiday without the world coming to an end, despite all the bad news we are constantly fed by the media. There is bad news 24 hours a day if we choose to live it. On the other hand, the decision to immerse yourself in the 24/7 news cycle is a personal one unless you are being held captive against your will in front of a television turned to CNN or FOX News. Maybe, you should think about turning the television off or at least changing the channel to something that is positive until the first of the year.

This idea may make you feel uncomfortable at first and you may feel a real need to know all the bad that is going on outside your door. You may feel it is important to know what is going on all the time. Give yourself an unexpected present this year and unplug from the bad news. What ever happens out there will happen whether you watch the news or not. Besides, you can always catch up. Spend the rest of the year relaxing and with the least amount of stress as possible. Everyone’s personal life has enough stress without the added weight of the world on top. That is true for everyone, especially those of us way up in the CHEAP SEATS!

Bill James is a Criminal Defense Lawyer and co founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway, and Fayetteville, Arkansas. He may be reached at 375-Bill.