What to do when bad news abounds? Write!

Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami has this suggestion. Speaking on Oct. 6, Murakami explained that, in 2011, he was struggling with the question of what to do about others’ suffering. He said that the best he could do was to write stories that move people.

“I was wondering what could I do for the people who have suffered. But I thought, ‘What I can do is to write good fiction.’ After all, when I write a good story, good fiction, we can understand each other if you are a reader and I’m a writer,” Murakami said. “There is a special secret passage between us, and we can send a message to each other. So I think (writing good stories) is a way I can contribute to society or people in the world.”

In other words, you find a way to help people that’s in keeping with the kind of person you already are. That might involve making art, writing novels, pursuing knowledge, or teaching. You pour yourself into those endeavors, knowing that one way to heal the world is to be in it and offer your gifts.

https://qz.com/quartzy/1439356/novelist-haruki-murakami-has-good-advice-on-what-you-can-do-when-life-looks-dark/

There is other good advice in this article but I kind of take issue with the idea of being subtle in these days of outrageous behavior from our government. I tend more towards Faulkner...

“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth.”
― William Faulkner