QuoteProject
Well, the news is mostly about things that go wrong, right? It's about sensationalist incidents that happened today, instead of things that happen every day. So if you watch and follow a lot of the news, at the end of the day, you know exactly how the world is not working.
Rutger Bregman
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

News often focuses on negative events, overshadowing the positive aspects of daily life.

Rutger Bregman's quote highlights the tendency of news media to emphasize sensational events and failures rather than the ordinary, positive occurrences that define our everyday lives. This focus can lead people to develop a skewed perception of reality, where they become overly aware of societal problems and neglect the continuous efforts and successes that contribute to a functioning world.

Themes

NewsNegativityPerceptionSensationalismReality

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion about media influence, someone might quote this to emphasize the importance of balanced reporting.

More from Rutger Bregman

If we assume the best in people, we can radically redesign our democracy and welfare states.
Rutger BregmanRead
Since long workdays lead to more errors, shorter workdays could reduce accidents. Overtime is deadly. Tired surgeons have been found to be more prone to slip'ups, and soldiers who get too little shuteye are more prone to miss targets.
Rutger BregmanRead
My hope is that the corona crisis will help bring us into a new age of cooperation and solidarity and a realization that we're in this together.
Rutger BregmanRead
This is what a crisis does: It makes you question the status quo. That doesn't mean that after a crisis we move into some kind of utopia. But it is an opportunity for political change.
Rutger BregmanRead
While it won't solve all the world's ills - and ideas such as a rent cap and more social housing are necessary in places where housing is scarce - a basic income would work like venture capital for the people.
Rutger BregmanRead
Believing in the good of humanity is a revolutionary act - it means that we don't need all those managers and CEO's, kings and generals. That we can trust people to govern themselves and make their own decisions.
Rutger BregmanRead

Similar quotes

blindness is a private matter between a person and the eyes with which he or she was born.
Jose SaramagoRead
I have no problem with religion, and I grew up with a strong curiosity about spiritual matters, but my searching took me away from church and community worship to the internal journey. Before my recovery began, I found my God in music and the arts, with writers like Hermann Hesse, and musicians like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter.
Eric ClaptonRead
In Judaism faith means wrestling with God as Jacob once wrestled with an angel.
Jonathan SacksRead
My real dwelling _x000D_ Has no pillars _x000D_ And no roof either _x000D_ So rain cannot soak it _x000D_ And wind cannot blow _x000D_ it down.
IkkyuRead
Opinions, like showers, are generated in high places, but they invariably descend into lower ones, and ultimately flow down to the people as rain unto the sea.
Charles Caleb ColtonRead
Envy, propelled by fear, can be even more toxic than anger, because it involves the thought that other people enjoy the good things of life which the envier can't hope to attain through hard work and emulation.
Martha NussbaumRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.