American lawman and gunslinger Wyatt Earp, best known for his role in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, once said, “Fast is fine, but accuracy is final. You must learn to be slow in a hurry.”
Think about that for a second. Now think about the divided world we currently live in. While some of our anxiety is self-induced, we can’t ignore the toxic role the media plays in the madness. While technology and competition feed our appetite for immediate gratification, it also exposes us to misinformation and biasness. Haste and the reckless race to be first are the enemies of accuracy and truth.
I cringe at the thought of people leaning on social media influencers and celebrities as their source of information. The five Ws of journalism, who, what, where, when and why, are no longer the fundamental questions of news gathering. Instead of explaining the “why,” we’ve normalized “Why bother?”
It’s a dangerous road to travel but many of us don’t even know we’re on it. We can change that by recognizing that deception and distortion shouldn’t shape our lives or influence the decisions we make.
We have the power to empower ourselves and it can start with one simple action. In the midst of our busy schedules during the holidays, there's something extremely powerful that we can’t overlook: laughter. Laughter isn’t just a physical reaction; it is as my wife Paige says – food for our souls.
The holidays are a time of joy and connection, but can also be a time when splintered relationships are even more strained. Laughter has the power to break barriers and even heal the most divided.
We all need to slow down in a hurry and focus on what’s important. It’s not about speed or being first, nor is it about hypocrisy or self-preservation. It’s about caring for one another and feeding our souls. Let’s keep finding reasons to laugh and make laughing a priority.
There’s nothing biased about that…
Wishing you a holiday season filled with laughter, love and lasting memories.
