Media and Healing: Media is a guardian of healing. There fore, healin...

Media and Healing: Media is a guardian of healing. There fore, healin...: Media is a guardian of healing. There fore, healing is always going on in society. Media is ubiquitous and never stops in fulfilling this ...

Media is a guardian of healing. There fore, healing is always going on in society. Media is ubiquitous and never stops in fulfilling this all encompassing role. It's scope and impact are far-reaching. As an object of our attention, it has a profound influence on our perceptions, and there's healing of body, mind, and spirit. In short, the mass media acts like one of the central nervous system of the whole wide world.

Because of this fact, media lives up to the description by Henri Nouwen (1932 – 1996), a Dutch-born Catholic priest, professor, writer of psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, of social justice books, who asked, “Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.” Nouwen's exposition of an individual's social responsibility can also be likened to the role of the media in every society. Whether it succeeds, or fail at these goals, is for any observer to judge.

We know the media has brought healing to racial conflict, natural disasters, was a benevolent guardian to conflicts during the Civil Rights era, oversaw developments during Watergate, Vietnam War, Iraq war, and America's involvement in Afghanistan.

Guardian of Healing

The media covers diverse religious faith traditions, cultures, and ethnic groups, through its newspapers, magazines, books, radio, cable, TV, and the Internet. Although many of these different media are limited in some cultures, it's sobering to know that through the mass media we're able to find commonalities in some major religions of the world. It's clear that through these faith traditions, adherents worship the same God, even if He's called by another name. They also attribute healing, peace, prosperity, and their personal well-being to being obedience to His teachings.

One message comes through loud and clear in some faiths, that's best captured by Joseph Addision (1672 – 1719), an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician, “If you want to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius.” Such a statement boils down to putting one's trust in a living God. Undoubtedly, these beliefs permeate Christianity and some faith traditions, although these concepts may be expressed differently. Media is the healer and purveyor of this reality.

The Secular in Healing

It's wise not to think that readers and viewers of these media will react the same way about media's role in healing. Some will say that the media does nothing more than pushes sensational stories. It's commonly believed by some media critics, “if it bleeds, it leads.” But one thing, we tend to forget is the ongoing updating, discussion, and analysis going on in contemporary media. In democratic nations an array of experts weigh in on the important stories of each day, and the audience is free to accept, or refute their ideas, and information, if these don't get with their own beliefs.

Taking shape however, is the edification of the public mind to bring wholeness to their perceptions of certain data that may be confusing. Through this process, media can claim impressive results. Whether secular or non-secular, there has been instances of dramatic healing. We often become aware of incredible suffering by cancer and Alzheimer's patients, and how they have been cured through the intervention of media that's serving us as a catalyst for change.

Healing may not necessarily be only physical healing but, it may bring emotional harmony to communities torn apart by racial strife. Radio and TV are often instrumental in promoting charitable works, in the midst of natural disasters; comforting, and raising aid for those affected by drought, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and forest fires. So the next time, an individual reads a magazine, flips through a newspaper, laughs at a situation comedy, or finds himself or herself, volunteering for causes that are brought to us on TV, remember that media is playing, and continues to play, a vital role in healing our society.