Sunday morning. One of the best times of the week. Coffee, a big fat newspaper, Sunday Morning on television, followed by the Sunday talk shows: Meet the Press, Face the Nation, Washington Watch, Newsmakers. There is George Stephanopoulos and Christine Amanpour and all the rest, interviewing and analyzing, breaking it all down for us. 'It' being the news.

Of course, I am a bit partial to the news. Local news especially, but all news. BBC World News is great in the mornings for getting a look at the big picture, Morning Joe on MSNBC, CNN of course, C-SPAN because I love politics. I am a bit of a news junkie, if there is such a thing. Which I suppose is not the worst thing I could aspire to be. Being aware that there is a whole big world beyond my front yard is fundamental in the 21st century. Trying to understand what is going on in this world and how it affects me is as natural as breathing. A news junkie, perhaps, doesn't have such a bad habit, an addiction that costs nothing, but expands the mind.

So what would the opposite of a news junkie be? An ignorance junkie? An ostrich? Junk bond investors? A hermit?

These people do exist. Not only do they not bother becoming informed, they actually go out of their way to remain clueless. They do not watch the news, don't read newspapers for anything other than obituaries and comics, don't bother forming opinions. “What does it matter what I know, I can't change anything anyway,” is the reasoning behind their apathy.

They are the equivalent of a child stuffing their fingers in their ears and humming when something unpleasant is being spoken. The difference being that most of these people are adults.

And some of them vote, which is scary.

How can they not care? Has human curiosity been killed by 24 hour cable news and Youtube? Reports of world events are now more readily available than ever before in human history. This was made evident by the reporting of the governmental crackdown on Iranian protests after a fraudulent election, which was done largely via Twitter. There is more opportunity to learn about the world around us than ever before, yet people seem unwilling to know what is happening, some actually shun the chance to know the how and why of our global community. They prefer to stay uninformed.

Why is the question. What would cause a person to think they are better off not knowing the president's policy on war or the economy? Do they not care whether their representatives truly represent their interests and beliefs? In an age when terrorists from tiny nations half-way around the globe can bring the US to its knees with three or four airplanes, do these willfully ignorant people really think the news doesn't affect them?

Of course, there is the easy way to consider oneself informed: the soundbite. A few seconds, a snatch of a speech or statement, is broadcast and printed, people hear it, and, ta da! Instant informed opinion. So much easier than reading a newspaper or sitting through 30 minutes of national news. Just choose a television news program or a radio talk show host that agrees with what you think, listen to the first few minutes and you will hear just enough to confirm what you think. Why would you want to muddy the waters of logic with information? Information can be tricky, it may require thought processes to digest, it may need to be pondered and looked at from different angles, mulled over a bit. One might have to think.

And time spent thinking means time taken away from other pursuits, such as waiting in line on Black Friday, or fantasy football or World of Warcraft. To spend an hour listening to someone analyze the Senate's healthcare package would mean an hour less for watching kittens on Youtube or the latest disaster flick, and the American public just can't spare the time.

The media outlets have done what they can to attract the public. Televis-ion news anchors now must be attractive (Walter Cronkite would never make it past a local affiliate station), must be fashionable (no one ever noticed or mentioned what Walter wore, but they notice if Diane Sawyer cuts her hair), they are celebrities (Katie Couric's love life is tabloid fodder, no one knew if Walter had a love life, or cared).

When did reading and watching and listening to current events become such a chore? Why has the country put on blinders? Is thinking so difficult that it is impossible, or at least not worth the effort?

The Roman Empire, it has been written, collapsed due to a variety of causes, both internal and external. Were those ancient Romans so sure of their place in the world that they ceased to care about anything beyond their immediate vicinity? Would Pompeii have survived if a newscast of Versuvius' possible eruption was broadcast? Was Marie Antionette aware the Bastille was being stormed, that thousands of her subjects wanted, as eventually got, her head separate from her body?

There is a lot going on out there, people. You may not think it affects you – it does. You may not think you can do much about it – you can. Knowing what is happening is the first step in participating in the processes that shape your neighborhood, your state, your country and the world. Using that information to form an opinion is next, followed by making informed decisions. Know what you are talking about, then talk about it.

Listen to the news. It's important.