No news is good news

I don't watch the evening news very often, and I rarely read the newspaper. Does that horrify you? I suppose my thinking is similar to why I don't watch Law and Order any more. It preoccupies me with the wrong things. I have other things to do with my life.

The other day I received an email about a new law addressing lead in children's products. This law requires testing of all products to be used by children ages 0-12, including clothing, to make sure it is lead-free. Clothing was included (not just toys) because a child once swallowed a button colored with lead paint and died. The law passed through the House and Senate very quickly and almost without opposition because of the recent problems with toys during the past few Christmas seasons. I researched the information via the internet and felt assured of its validity.

Perhaps, because it was passed quickly, the law wasn't well-thought out. But unless local merchants ignore the law and it is not enforced, consignment shops will be largely forced out of business. Who can afford the $50,000 to test inventory of used clothes? Even if the cost of lead testing were brought down, with consignment stores earning an average of $2.50 per item sold, this law is devastating to them. And since the economic news turned bleak, second-hand sales have been booming.

When I heard about this, I felt compelled to take some kind of action. I wrote my U.S. Senators; I posted a note explaining the situation on Facebook. Studying history in depth with my homeschoolers, I believe it is essential that we the people participate in our government, or we will not long enjoy its freedoms. But it is a daunting task, this responsibility to be engaged.

My mind is occupied with many things: schooling my kids, parenting them all, having a good marriage, keeping the house clean, the preschool ministry at church, situations my family and friends face, growing with God. I try to responsibly respond to news I encounter in my daily life: emails, phone calls, Elizabeth coming home from school. The BBC or Jim Lehrer or Charlie Gibson bringing me news from the world, some of which I can have no response to, almost shuts me down. Until I teach current events, for the sake of my own sanity, no news is good news.