OPINION: Eat the Meat, Throw Out the Bones

A Senior’s Guide to Surviving Modern News by: Linda Kirby/WGON 1.9.26

People used to trust the news to tell us what was really going on in the world. That was back in the good old days of actual reporting — not the propaganda parade we see now. These days, you have to learn how to eat the meat and throw out the bones. Some folks take the whole fish — bones, scales, and all — and then wonder why they’re choking.

But age has given me a gift: I’ve lived long enough to know the difference. And let me tell you, there are a lot of bones these days.

Everywhere we turn, we’re served gaslighting, narratives, spin, and downright deception. So how does a person stay informed when the truth is so rarely offered? That’s where age comes in. Those of us who’ve lived more than fifty years have a memory that whispers, “Hold on… something’s off here.” We’ve lived through similar moments before, and our memory pulls up the file. Suddenly we have an “aha moment.”

We see the picture being painted — and we notice what’s missing. Each media source paints it differently, but we’ve lived long enough to recognize recycled tricks dressed up in new vocabulary. They don’t want us choking on the bones, so they grease them with soft language and redefined words to make them easier to swallow.

But in my advanced years, I’ve seen too much to swallow bones. I’ve learned how to pick out the meat. These days, the bones practically glow with neon for me. I’ve lived this before, and now I can spot it instantly.

The News Isn’t the Meal — It’s the Plate

We have to remember: the news isn’t the meal. They’re handing us the plate — and most of what’s on it is bones. But if you look closely, there are always a few bits of meat hiding there.

Our lived experience helps us find those morsels. Commentary is the garnish, but discernment is the knife and fork. The media can serve up a beautiful plate full of spices and decoration, but it’s not nourishing. It looks good, it sounds good, but it’s empty.

How to Keep From Swallowing the Deception

• Compare what you hear with what you’ve lived

• Notice when language shifts

• Ask, “Who benefits from me believing this?”

• Look for what’s missing, not just what’s said

• Don’t let emotion override memory

• Don’t let volume override truth

If you pay attention, you’ll notice these “news cycles” always appear when there’s an opportunity to never let a crisis go to waste. They’ll talk, scream, cry, yes, even shed a tear,, and parade experts across the screen — all to overload you with the version they want you to believe.

Why So Many Young People Swallow the Whole Fish

Younger generations are out in the streets protesting things they barely understand because:

• They don’t have the long view

• They haven’t lived through the cycles

• They trust the plate because they’ve never cooked the meal

• They don’t know what bones look like yet

How to Live Through an Age of Propaganda

• see the long-term consequences of ideas

• recognize recycled rhetoric

• spot when language shifts to hide intent

• remember what things looked like before the spin

• compare today’s claims with yesterday’s reality

• Use your own memories

• Compare narratives with lived reality

• Trust discernment over drama

• And remember: you don’t have to eat everything you’re served

Look at the news from a scriptural perspective:

“Test all things; hold fast to what is good.”

“By their fruits you shall know them.”

“Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

“The simple believe every word, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.”

“…by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”

“The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.”

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy…”

And remember, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”

Be a Berean, they always searched out the truth.

I used to hate being old. I thought nothing good came with age. But now I see the blessing: I’ve lived, learned, and stored it all in my memory banks. And I draw on those banks every time I watch the news. I weigh what is going on in the news against what the scriptures tell us will happen. That’s when I get the real news, the real truth, the real report.

Age may wrinkle the skin, but it sharpens the mind — especially when it comes to spotting bones in the fish.