President Bush apologized for "cowboy" language he hadn't rehearsed. Tom Ridge's buddies benefited from lucritive contracts (why else do we go into public service?). Baseball finally decides to put the clamps on steroids (no more home run records). They caught a nut in Florida with a shoebox full of ricin. Prince Harry is a stupid teenager. Georgia has to remove pro-creationism stickers from text books. The FBIs $170 million computer system can barely play a game of solitaire. Oil spills in Alaska, mudslides in California, bombs in Gaza, kidnappings and killings in Iraq, tornados in Arkansas, and malaria in Indonesia. After a while its, "blah, blah blah, blah, blah."

Have we become callous to news unless it directly effects us? Do we tune out the news unless it's a NASCAR report or a tidbit on J Lo's new heartthrob?

Try something. Sit down and listen to the local and national news. Really listen to it. Take notes. Describe how each item makes you feel. Read a local newspaper. If something pisses you off, write a letter to the editor or to your Congressmen. Become a participant in life, not just a spectator. You're a citizen of the world; pay attention to what's going on around you and do something about it.