With all that has happened in the last few months, weeks, or days, it can be hard to stay informed of what is happening. This issue is only complicated by the issue of finding reliable sources. Staying clear of the news and drowning out the things that are hard to hear may keep away negativity, but is is a good thing? Should we work to ensure we are as informed as possible?

Being removed from all television for the last 4 months has made being informed even harder. I don't have the input I used to get, and with time being in short supply, combing through the numerous articles online to find some with minimal bias and ample truth is hard to do. I will not lie, there are definitely weeks where I have no clue what is going on in the world outside the small group of people I live with. Other weeks, the international news seems inescapable. Which is preferable?

In many ways, ignoring the news of the day can be liberating. It feels great to not worry about the future or the the things that have happened. Scary realities can't stop you because you simply aren't aware of them. I adopted the mentality that I was far from home, so things happening there couldn't hurt me.

What I learned from my brief time of ignoring the news, and staying rather uninformed, was that this wasn't practical in the long run. As much as I would like to forget, the events occurring at home and elsewhere around the world do have far-reaching effects. They can solve problems or make waves on a global scale. This is why we need to pay attention. We must pay attention so those in power are kept in check. We must pay attention so the decisions we must make are based on informed opinions. And we must pay attention so we can learn from our mistakes.

The moment we stop paying attention and raising our voices when things go wrong is the moment we become complicit in its effects. Regardless of your nationality or who you support in the world, being aware of what is being carried out is vital. This can range from new laws or human right violations. By being informed people can help protect those who may be harmed as a result. No one can affect change or even realize they should if they don't know what is occurring in the world.

Without being informed decisions we must make are incredibly difficult. Especially when voting is concerned, it just isn't conducive to an informed decision to ignore the events happening all around us. It doesn't matter the opinion you may hold, as long as it has been reached by looking at the facts. It doesn't have to be that you sit in front of a television screen, making notes of every single thing that has happened, even the most trivial. But having a general idea of what a candidate or measure is about is vital.

History tends to repeat itself, so we need to be informed to recognize those patterns. It is naive to believe that the waters we tread are completely uncharted. When we recognize negative paths we can rebel against those actions. On the flip side, with recognition of positive trends we can bolster revolutions and aid in movements.

Staying uninformed can provide temporary reprieves from reality, but doing so long term can be detrimental. As a society, we owe it to ourselves and the community to stay aware of what is occurring. This can be done by taking a few minutes each day to hear about what has happened in the world. When need be, we must dive deeper into the issues, but pretending things aren't occurring doesn't solve anything.