Your Attention, Please

I confess: I am a news junkie. And while being informed is a good thing, I have found that too much of a good thing can be very bad. My immersion in cable news networks, major newspapers and Web headlines usually leaves me more overwhelmed than inspired. I actually wouldn't mind having more filters in place to highlight what I really need to know as opposed to what my insatiable curiosity finds interesting.

Apparently, I'm not alone. One DC-area blogger/author writes eloquently about the ways our brains might be struggling under the onslaught of modern life. In the August 24 edition of The Washington Post, Dusty Horwitt writes about the ways info-overload can undermine our democracy. His article asks, "If Everyone's Talking, Who Will Listen?" and notes that "the average visitor to newspaper Web sites stops by for just 1.5 minutes per day..."

What does this have to do with compassionate action, you ask? We can't respond to others if we don't even notice them. Permanently plugged into ipods and cell phones, we're oblivious to the hungry person on the sidewalk. Mesmerized by celebrity gossip, we pass by the documentary about genocide. Frenetically texting our way into the store, we let the door shut on the person behind us. We phone while driving, IM while channel-surfing, snap photos instead of seeing the subtleties right in front of our faces. When do we ever pause to pay attention to family, friends and strangers who have stepped off of our electronic canvas?

The Post article points out that you can't even help yourself by making your own voice heard amid the din. We're told that the Internet has opened up democracy, providing a platform for anyone who can post, blog or Digg. But generating messages is just the first step. To have an impact, you must be seen or heard. And we're all making that a lot harder.

Curbing Offensive Phoning

Sometimes "compassionate action" is as simple as employing common consideration. July is Cell Phone Courtesy Month. Have you gotten so accustomed to those voices in your ear that you're ignoring the humanity around you? Try to mind your wireless manners by:

> Letting calls go to voicemail when you're in others' company.
> Turning your phone off, or to vibrate, at public performances, presentations and ceremonies; at the library, movies and museums; and in any place where a ringing phone will disrupt an otherwise peaceful environment.
> Foregoing calls while driving. If you're paying attention to the road, you can't give your call buddy the full attention he or she deserves. And no one likes their conversation to be interrupted by tunnels, toll booths or other interferences. You'll be doing your fellow drivers a favor, too.
> Using text messaging to receive and send urgent, but brief, news.
> Recognizing that you're not alone. Do you really want a store-ful of strangers to hear the details of your love life?

For more on cell phone courtesy, check out Modern Manners Guy.