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The world can be a very loud place. We live close to the intersection of two major streets in our part of Jackson: Ridgewood and Northside. In the evenings, I enjoy sitting outside on our back porch, reading, watching H play in his sandbox, drinking a beer, listening to music. Usually, at least a couple of times while I’m doing this, I’m interrupted by a siren or a horn, or a car with a bad muffler, or a motorcycle. We’ve got a privacy fence up, which I think helps mitigate some of the noise, but it’s still loud sometimes. It can be especially frustrating when I’m trying to go to sleep and someone drives by or stops at that intersection and is very interested in sharing their bass heavy music with everyone in the neighborhood. This is especially true late at night on the weekends, when there’s lots of bass heavy music sharing to be done. So be it. It’s the hazard of living in a city. It goes with being able to live most of your life in a ten to fifteen minute drive’s radius, which is a distinct advantage to not living in the country.

There’s noise beyond the sound of traffic. For a while I’ve listened to the local FM conservative talk radio station’s midday program, The JT Show. I’ve even called in once to tussle with JT and his producer, Bob. I can tolerate them so long as I realize that most of what they’re doing is crisis manufacture/fear mongering for the purpose of selling advertisements. If they honestly believe in the apocalyptic vision of our country that they spout daily, then they really both ought to consider moving out west and committing seppuku. I’ve stopped listening to them for a couple of reasons. First, they’re wrong. Second, they’re loud. And just when I think that nobody would ever want to listen to a reasonable conversation about current events, I remember that there’s Diane Rehm and Talk of the Nation. It’s not the liberal slant that I appreciate as much as the fact that there’s very little raising of voices, lamenting the destruction of our country and counting down until the end of the Obama presidency.

For many of the same reasons, I’ve successfully lobbied against cable television in our house. Yes, I miss many live sporting events that aren’t broadcast on ESPN3 or the networks that can be received through our antenna. However, I don’t miss the evening rundown of shootings/stabbings/childbeatings/political corruption/high school sports and the weather. And I don’t miss the fact that CNN/FoxNews/MSNBC continue to be in perpetual crisis mode 10 years after the last real physical threat to many of us. Every hour, there’s a “NEWS ALERT,” or a “BREAKING STORY.” It’s more stressful than it is enlightening or enjoyable. And as someone with a genetic predisposition to high blood pressure, I don’t need all that, and I don’t want it for my family. Again, it’s noise. It’s not helping make my life any better. If I can minimize my exposure to it, I will.

There’s noise that’s worth hearing. I think of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests, and the marches and associated events around the country. People are upset, not because they feel a simple sense of entitlement, but because many of them have played by the rules, done what they were supposed to do (went to school, got a job, etc.) and still they ended up on the short end of the stick for whatever reason. And they are angry because they believe that the financial sector isn’t the only part of the economy that’s worthy of substantial financial support from the government. All of this comes amidst calls from the right that our country’s debt burden is unsustainable, that we should retrench, cut support for people who need it, and that this will prevent some massive calamity. I want to reemphasize what I said before: most of the people who are protesting are not simply asking for a handout. They did what they were supposed to do and still ended up in dire financial circumstances. This isn’t some generational apathy that’s the result of being spoiled. It’s a symptom of a broader, and unjust set of circumstance. And it’s noise that’s worth hearing, even if you don’t agree with it.

I should add that at the other end of the spectrum, there is noise that’s worth hearing as well. I don’t think that the Birthers, or the people who argue that the president is a socialist plotting to destroy the country are worth hearing, but the conversation between many of the Occupiers and Tea Partiers is one that we need to have. It’s democracy at work. It isn’t always pretty, but more importantly, it (the conversation) and we, as citizens, would be more well served if the noise was kept in the streets and off the airwaves. Less FoxNews/MSNBC, more PBS is better for the nation as a whole. (So give today!)

So, my current goal is the elimination of all extraneous noise from my life. If it’s noisy and not worthwhile, I’m casting it aside.

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