Our News Habit

Habits define people. The notion of a person’s identity forms in their regular practices: word choice, dress, gestures, etc. These habits, as the content of our identity, also act as the content of our political choices. Habits reflect the fundamental political choices people make. Particularly in a society defined by discipline and regulation of life in the image of sovereignty and the police, what we do regularly with our time demonstrates the basic political commitments we have. For example: the development of social health in daily bathing; participation in basic gender role playing with our regular choices of dress; delineation of worthy and unworthy life in our eating habits. Our daily commitments/practices form the nucleus of any truly powerful political project that strikes at the heart of challenges like environmental change, police violence, militarism, etc. Each of these issues is defined by the subconscious reactions we have as part of a daily routine while living. So, changing our habits can change the world. Food, transportation, or clothing can be great leverage in a political struggle.

This shows the fundamental absurdity of news media. Watching the news in a globalized media structure forms a habit. That habit is only to continue watching, or to tune in again to another news show. The belief in the need to stay informed about world events has only an impact on how much or when news is watched. Information about Indonesian earthquakes and Iraqi hostage situations do demonstrate the breadth of mal-treatment globalization/consumerism subjects the world to. However, at no level do these news stories do anything to alter people’s daily habits. They become accessories to a well entertained subject who interacts with people through common referents in pop-culture rather than interpersonal connection.

Duncan