Corrections_Today_November_December_2021_Vol.83_No.6

From Jim’s Desk nEWS&vIEWS

Controversial subjects

H ave you ever noticed nearly every subject today becomes controversial? Global warm- ing, anyone? Immigration, anyone? Education, anyone? Foreign rela- tions, anyone? Covid shots, anyone? Our life has reached a point where virtually any subject invokes strong feelings from whomever may be discussing it. From religion to the classroom, we do not hold back our deeply ingrained opinions. Inject politics into it and it becomes fire and brimstone. And for the record I include myself in this arena. During the pandemic I decided to stop watching the news, talking heads and news programming. My choice for “news” today is what I choose to read, if I even choose to do that. Occasionally I am asked if I know something is going on in the world, and often I have no idea what the questioner is talking about. Oh sure, I try to stay somewhat abreast of national and international happenings but only when I stumble onto the subject through what little

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news I do read. I can not tell you too much about the infrastructure bill, the social networking bill or the Supreme Court agenda. I can say I know they are issues, but any speci- ficity leaves me cloudy. There was a time when I read, watched or listened to anything I could. Today I’m more interested in how many days the Jeopardy cham- pion has won, whether Bob Hearts Abishola and marries her, will the Sooners go to a bowl game and what are we doing for Thanksgiving.

I feel much better and am much happier thinking about those things than worrying about our relations with North Korea or the Taliban. Covid or no covid, I’m sticking to comedy and sports and tuning out the news and talking heads.

James A. Gondles Jr., CAE ACA Executive Director

6 — November/December 2021 Corrections Today