Ignorance is bliss?

I have participated in journalism ever since my middle school days till end of college: school newspaper, math newsletter, model UN newspaper..etc.  I remember folding all our papers and stuffing them with my talented fellow reporters, editors to assemble the perfect newspaper--crisp and ready to be delivered to our entire school.  In high school, we would win awards nationally and were regarded as the people who will "most likely get into the best college." (Ha.)

Those were the good days.  Wrote about three articles a month and created a layout page or two.  My favorite articles to write about were always new technology, health, and entertainment.  My least favorite: politics and war.

I used to read the news on the daily for years.  On the phone, passing by through Starbucks, online, and even facebook...but it has taken a reverse effect on me: I am detached.  Each article, each news seemed to try topping each other off "3 deaths" "20 deaths" "70 deaths" and all of these would happen in one day.  It is as though the news about 3 deaths isn't as important as 70 deaths.

Before, I would feel this sense of horrible helplessness.  How is that I am doing so well, yet there are 70 people who were shot to death while sleeping just a continent away?  How is it that just two hours north, my people are starving to death under some wretched government that puts people in terror every single day? Whereas I am just picking off boxes of chocolate to eat just because I am bored?  For the rest of the day I wouldn't feel right.  But now, I fear as though my emotional mindset has taken for the worst: apathy.

I found myself dumbing down.  I turned to youtube that gave me temporary elation and go back to my normal dumb life.  I would just accumulate little bits of knowledge here and there but never really bother to delve deep into a situation.  Little subjects of small talk.  Sometimes I just pretend that I know about the entire thing because I had just read a sentence about it.

I need to start reading again.