It so many ways, it’s a world gone mad.
Between Rocket Man in North Korea and the dictator in Syria gassing his own people, we can find countless other examples of rather worrisome trends.
But, in the end, what should we really, truly, be worried about?
The answer is … nothing. Worry gets you nothing. So why worry?
Worry costs you a lot, however. It takes energy to worry.
Why not devote that same energy to something more productive? To, perhaps, a better night’s sleep?
On top of all of that, I am troubled by the word, “should.” After all, the word “should” suggests some sort of prescriptive, a rule by which we are commanded to worry about this or that.
Who sets these rules?
Well, for one, it is America’s mainstream media that tell us what we should or should not do. Take for example, this headline from last week’s New Yorker: “How should we think about Kanye West’s Tweets?” The answer was given, of course, and we are therefore abiding the “should” as seen by the New Yorker.
But as the Daily Stoic has said in a related blog post, the answer to the New Yorker’s question is simply this: Nothing. We “should” think nothing about them, simply because they do not matter at all. Or, said another way, we should not should all over ourselves.
True to form, the mainstream media then piled on. Take this from Rolling Stone: “Why Kanye West’s Pro-Trump Tweets are a Real Threat.” If you needed to know why they were (or are) a real threat, then read Rolling Stone.
Better yet, don’t read it at all.
There are things we might noodle upon; things that are a real threat to our very existence. The book featured today, What Should We Be Worried About, makes far better reading; better reading, that is, if you are interested in the shoulds of life.
There are things to care about and there are things that don’t need to be cared about. The deliberately provocative tweets of a musician gearing up for an album launch? Not one of them. And they are definitely not a ‘threat’ to anything.
As the Daily Stoic put it …
The next time you see a headline in the news or a discussion topic on ESPN asking, “What should we think about _____?” “What’s wrong with _______?” “What’s the right take on _____?” The answer is … nothing.
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
The purpose of this kind of “news” isn’t to inform you, it’s to waste your time. In fact, it’s a trick that preys on your ego— an ego that’s just as real and vain as Kanye West’s.
Remember Epictetus:
“If you wish to improve, be content to be seen as ignorant on certain matters.” Or better yet, “If you wish to get things done, to be happy, think deeply, and study philosophy, then don’t have an opinion about nonsense. Just ignore it.”
