To paraphrase FDR, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." While not specifically voiced in relation to the topic of today's blog, it is a phrase that can be applied to anything in our lives that we fear. Fear can become so monstrous, that the thing we are afraid of may leave the room and yet the fear lives on.
Our fear can be further complicated by diverse opinions of various "authorities." Depending on the "weight" that those authorities carry, we can be further immobilized by our fear.
The media has this kind of power.
Who doesn't "believe" the media? Well everyone will say that they don't----but the reality is, that most people will accept what the media tells them, as opposed to doing any research on their own. People will, on occasion, change their opinion when some new media source they trust more contradicts their original opinion.
It seems that today the sources of information are so diverse that most people are overwhelmed by the possible choices of whom to trust. Preachers, gurus, newspapers, books, the internet, television, and radio all stream a cornucopia of possible answers to everything that is wrong with us and will be wrong with us.
I got to thinking of all of this as a result of several recent blogs about Radon in Granite Countertops. This is typical fodder for the media. The media knows that human beings are run by fear and sex. So if they can't hook us with how sexy granite countertops are they will hook us with how the granite countertops are going to kill us. The reality is, in my opinion, that they are more likely to be sexy than dangerous----unless of course your "activities" result in your crashing to the floor.
I don't pretend to be an expert on Radon but I am old enough to know that it isn't usually a good idea to believe everything you hear----no matter who is talking. Every generation has its version of "Flat Earth Society"---and it still doesn't change the fact that the Earth is round. Some things are also just not possible to know. When that happens the key is to not latch onto what looks like a convenient answer, but to allow life to go on "without" answers----so that there is a space for the answers to come into. Having to have a "reason" for everything is perhaps the most insidious fear of all. It creates hate groups and religions.
So for those of you that really need some really good information about Radon----information that won't scare the pants off of you while you are fooling around on your granite countertops in the dark----I hope you will take the time to check two articles that present a different view of "Radon" and "Radon Risk & Cancer" by Caoimhin P Connell.
Charles Buell
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PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)
all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.
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