THE NEWS DOES SEEM TO SLEEP

THE NEWS DOES SEEM TO SLEEP
by matt burns

I've been trying to keep up with it all
Every day is something big and huge
It's all coming at me so fast
I finally catch up
And stay on top of it all
And I'm really proud of myself for it

Then Christmas comes
I scour the news sites
I scour
And I scour
But there's hardly anything
It's not only a slow news day
But there's hardly any news to speak of
I feel a void
I was apparently addicted to being on top of the news
There's nothing!

Curious it is
That there only seems to be big news in the world
When the news people are on the clock
And they're around to report it
And make it into BIG NEWS

When the news people are on a holiday
So isn't the news, it seems
Thus, maybe the news only exists
When the news people are around to fuel it
Build it up
Or maybe even manufacture it

If there's nobody around to report on that tree falling in the forest
Does it actually still make a noise?

Why don't we just take the news people away
That way the news can sleep every day
There will be no more crashing of trees in the world's forest
The world will have less noise
Quiet down
And peace will be restored

World peace can be realized
Simply by ridding the world of the news people

THE WORLD MAY BE OK

THE WORLD MAY BE OK

by matt burns

Sometimes you wonder about the world

And there’s just thing after thing

After thing after thing

That makes you say we’re all screwed

The world seems so doomed

But when I walk down the street near my house, with my dog

I don’t see much doom and gloom

It all looks OK to me

My entire dark outlook on the world

Has come from TV and the news

It’s the news that paints such a dark depiction

If it was hundreds of years ago

I guess the world could be the same it is today

But there wouldn’t be any news

So I would walk down the street

See the trees blooming in the breeze

And the blue skies with puffy white clouds

And all would be well

The world would be just fine

And that would be the only world I knew

The only difference today

Is the news

Maybe the news is a form of psychological warfare

It exists to make us think the world is doomed

And we fear and loathe

And we get depressed

And we despair

And we get debilitated or even paralyzed

And we don’t do all that much

Because what’s the point?

And then we’re easier to control

And we’re easier to be turned into consumers

More easily turned into human resources

“Yeah, the world’s doomed

So just watch your reality TV

And talent shows

And football games 

Rot your brain

Because if you actually do something

It’s not going to be worth anything anyway”

I guess the wars are out there somewhere

And I guess so aren’t the murders and rapes

And the child molesters

And the thieves

The corrupt politicians

And the bad storms

And all the other indications of the

End

Of

Times

But when I walk down the street 

All is just fine

And that’s my reality

The reality portrayed in the news is constructed

Weaving separate threads of negativity together

To create one quilt of negative reality

But that reality is really just a construction

Not an actual reality

If you remove yourself from the news

And take a walk down your street

Really, the world is kind of OK

DRAMA HAS BECOME THE NORM

Here is a poem meant to provoke some thought about today's relationships and why there may be so much drama in these relationships. I may not have articulated myself that well in the poem, but check it out if you like...

DRAMA HAS BECOME THE NORM

by matt burns

It’s strange to look at older people

And their relationships

And there’s usually NO

Or very little

Drama

Like my parents, for example:

Their relationship is pretty tame

Laid back

I’m amazed

But then I look at relationships

From the younger generations

And see 

LOTS 

Of

Drama

What’s the difference?

Maybe it’s REALITY TV

Over the past fifteen years

Reality TV has created a new norm in life

DRAMA

Because without drama

Reality TV has no entertainment value

But the overall message becomes:

Reality is about DRAMA

Drama is reality

Constant drama is reality

Creating drama out of every little thing is normal

Because people watch Reality TV

And they emulate what they see

And they say THAT’S what reality’s supposed to be like

My reality is supposed to have drama!

So these young couples come together

And their relationship becomes a Reality TV series

At least in their heads

And every little thing gets blown out of proportion

You didn’t hold the door for me

Cut to interview in front of green screen

“So Steve didn’t hold the door for me yesterday and I’m FUMED!”

Reality TV

Has made drama the basis of life

But needless drama is not necessarily life

It’s just entertainment

Meant to draw viewers

And boost ratings

The drama demon has wriggled its way into our realities

And if things keep going this way

Needless drama will overshadow everything important

And we will all be distracted by the drama

Our attention drawn away from what really matters

Drama has become the norm