I find the saying by Lao Tse, “to attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day,” very wise. I attain knowledge in different forms by consuming the news daily.
We all have been exposed to some form of news consumption, whether it be by the internet, or television or the radio! We all may know about the recent Rs.11,500 fine that Big Bazaar had to pay for them charging customers for plastic bags; or the news of the United Nations rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, citing the civil wars sparked by a warming planet and the plight of indigenous people in an Amazon ravaged by wildfires and rampant deforestation. Billions of us worldwide have made it a daily habit to consume some form of news daily.
Even in the olden times we had newspapers, and before that the word of mouth was enough. It helps us keep up to date with the happenings and events around us, including social, political, economic news as well as current events.
We have been brought up in this culture where all of us check our mobile phones many times throughout the day, from rising up from bed till the last few minutes in your bed before you sleep. We have been brought up with this faith, but what is the worth of this faith? Does this news help us become well educated and engaged citizens? Does it help us make our society a better place?
There are several reasons for me to consume news, such as to monitor the status of the world and the events that go around it, to know what the new steps are towards achieving world peace.
- Not only do I get the latest news around the globe but it helps me keep up to date with the legal developments in the courts as well as the new bills that are being discussed. It does keep me well rounded too and your interest the in world makes you more interesting too.
- It further makes you more engaged in meaningful conversations. Being educated is staying aware too. When you hear news about Section 377 or the read news of about human trafficking and hear their stories you become aware of what happened to them, you learn from their stories, learn how to be safe, you get more informed about the world you are not a part of. When your read news about global warming you become more alert to the situation. As a law student when you read about new amendments you learn how to approach moot problems or even real-life cases you. Awareness is something that this world very much requires at this point. Knowledge is power and one of the easiest and most essential ways of gaining knowledge is by staying aware, staying informed and keeping up with the news.
This further adds in for a person to become wiser. When an individual is aware, he gains the capacity to decide what is required and what is not, what is useful and what is not, what is important what is not, and what is meaningful and what is not. In this era of expert knowledge, only a little bit of knowledge of the world stands nowhere. One has to keep oneself updated in order to be somewhere in this world. Especially in today’s globe where views are questioned and words have to pay a cost, this is essential.
A lawyer will ruin his clients’ fate without thorough knowledge of the law and its legality. Reading always teaches, it teaches you to be wise and to be a successful lawyer. So, I think that we ought to take a newspaper and make time in our lives to stay up to date with the legal as well as other news. I wouldn’t want to go to Court and argue a case with a case law which I did not even know has been overruled, or a law which I didn’t even know has been amended. Also, extra knowledge always helps you gain that extra point in debates, Model UN Conferences, moot court competitions or even while flirting. A pretty face is always attractive but a smart brain is irresistible.
Now, if you will excuse me, I had some plans to make. I heard that Kingfisher Airlines was giving a huge discount for trips from Mumbai to London. It sounds like the Vijay Mallya has made the tickets so cheap that it’s a crime!
