" . . . Pick up any major daily newspaper or weekly news magazine, or turn to the news on any one of the many available channels. It is impossible to read the columns or listen to the commentaries without sensing that there is a terrible ailment of gloom in this land. We are constantly fed a steady and sour diet of pessimism, faultfinding, second-guessing, and evil speaking one of another. The pathetic fact is: Negativism sells."
"Some writers of our news columns are brilliant. They are men and women of incisive language and scintillating expression. They are masters of the written and spoken word. Likewise, some television commentators are masters. But some seem unable to deal with the balanced truth, notwithstanding their protests to the contrary. The attitude of many is negative. With studied art, they pour out their vinegar of invective and anger, judging as if all wisdom belonged to them. Under the guise of analysis and informed opinion, they frequently dwell on their subject's failings rather than their strengths. If we took such pundits seriously, we might think the whole nation and indeed the whole world was going down the drain. There have been times when a particularly heavy dose of such cynicism has caused me to reflect that surely this is the age and place of the gifted pickle sucker!"
"A sustained diet of a negative point of view has serious repercussions. The negative becomes the stuff of headlines and long broadsides that in many cases are caricatures of the facts. This spirit of negativism grows and begins to hang like a cloud over the land, providing a misleading portrait of the facts and, in the process, reaching down to the individual man and woman and influencing attitudes, outlook, and even values."
"The tragedy is that the spirit is epidemic. Read the letters to the editor in almost any daily newspaper. Some of them are filled with venom, written by people who seem to find no good in the world or in their associates. To hear tell, nowhere is there a person of integrity holding public office. Businesspeople are all crooks. The utilities are out to rob the public. The snide remark, the sarcastic | jibe, the cutting down of associates - these too often are the essence of our conversation . . ."
Gordon B. Hinckley wrote the foregoing in his excellent book, The Ten Virtues (Copyright 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley; published by Random House Books; www.randomhouse.com). As I read these words, I was thinking about my editorials over the years and how the negative ones were almost always the most popular. I cringed as I reread some, where I poured out my vinegar of invective and anger, judging as if all wisdom belonged to me.
Now, granted, there is plenty to be mad about. The Department of the Interior seems determined to destroy our western way of life and there are those in environmental groups, government and its agencies whose lies and deceitfulness frustrate to the point of madness. Maybe, just maybe, though, there are some on the other side who really are sincere in their efforts (misguided or not) to close public land. I know that there are many people who aren't involved in land use issues at all who believe what they've been told by the environmentalists that 4x4's are destroying everything. Many of these people are sincere and honest - they just don't have the facts.
The point I'm trying to make here is that not all of our opposition is controlled by the dark forces of an evil empire. And, saying that, maybe I can be a little more charitable in my editorials. In fact, maybe I should be dwelling on the positive aspects of our hobby. There's a lot of fun and interesting things to write about in four-wheeling. After all, if it wasn't fun, we wouldn't be doing it. I was reading one of the 4x4 magazines the other day and, in the editorial, the editor was off on a negative tirade about something. I closed the magazine and threw it away. Even I didn't want to read it.
"You don't read the 4x4 magazines, or visit www.extreme4x4.com, to swim in a cesspool full of negativism. I pledge (unless the Department of the Interior goes really nuts) that I'll try not to contribute to that cesspool of negative garbage we are all exposed to daily. As the old song goes, "Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative . . ." |
