Don’t be a drive-by ____________ (Fill in the blank)

Rush Limbaugh defines the drive-by media as people who arrive on the scene of major breaking news and they stir up emotions to a frenzied fever pitch. They spread lies, and then, after a few hours or a few days when the real facts emerge, they’re gone.  

We eat it up.  And we enjoy it.  Because it’s easier to “care” about things that we know will be gone in a few days.

The superficial things in life don’t expect anything of us, so we revel in them.

Here’s an example….  Answer these simple questions about recent news stories.

• What was the name of the man “choked to death” by police in Baltimore?
• How many officers fired at Michael Brown when he was gunned down in Baltimore?
• What was the name of the officer who shot Freddie Gray in Ferguson, Missouri?

Most importantly….Did anyone notice that all of those towns and people and stories are mixed up?  Because the events that dominate our news cycle and are supposed to spark a “national conversation” leave our minds just as quickly as they came into them.

Don’t be a drive-by ___________________ (you fill in the blank).  

• Don’t be a drive-by Christian who gets all fired up about cupcake lawsuits without bothering to understand what really happened.
• Don’t be a drive-by voter who cares more about Donald Trump’s latest insulting rant than his stance on abortion.

Before you get upset about a news story ask yourself, “Will I care about this in a month?  In six months?”  Because if you won’t care about it then, you shouldn’t stress yourself out about it now.  And if you WILL care about the news story in six months, then you owe it to yourself to do more than just get mad.  Get involved.  Educate yourself.  Educate your friends.

Dig deeper.  Search.  Click.  Read.  We are fortunate enough to have a world of information at our fingertips.  Use it.