Did you read this on the weekend? A column by Fairfax national affairs writer Tony Wright on celebrating the ordinary things.
It’s not your usual “feel/think nice things” pap that circulate the web. It’s a frank reminder of how we respond to the news cycle. And how the media and politicians have to rely on sensationalism to get our attention and make a headline. While the ordinary things never make the cut. I’ve run the whole thing below. A REALLY important way to look at the immigration debate.
But I also like this about it: it’s an example of a hard news journalist taking a gentle approach. I hope we’ll see more and more of this over time. I think the world is shifting. I think, soon, we’ll crave this kind of gentle, ordinary approach to the news cycle. And we’ll seek the true evolution happening behind the sensationalist headline.
Celebrate the ordinary things
The apparently mundane doesn’t impress us, whether it’s a successful plane journey, hot water on tap or a successful immigrant.
THE shower threw steaming water into the dawn at the twist of a tap, just as it does every morning; a flick of the light switch rolled away the dark, as always.
The kettle boiled and there was tea; toast leapt from the toaster .
Outside, the car awaited. The engine turned over at the first touch of the key and I rolled into the day, rain falling onto the weather-tight windscreen.
Things work. Little things that we hardly take the time to think about. Oh, there are traffic jams and demands upon time, mortgages to pay and all manner of frustrations and niggles.