Authors urge Americans to observe a 30-day “blackout”

(Little Rock, Arkansas) August 25, 2006 – Negative, inflammatory, and often mud-slinging rhetoric tends to litter the print and broadcast media reports leading up to the November 2006 elections. In fact, as Super Tuesday approaches, the negative rhetoric intensifies to the point of dominating virtually all news reports. “You can’t pick up a newspaper or turn on the television without being overwhelmed by the negativity. We seem to be addicted to it and that’s no way to live, and certainly no way to approach the Holiday Season,” suggests Dr. Jeff Standridge, co-author of The Abundance Principle: Five Keys to Extraordinary Living (www.TheAbundancePrinciple.com). “We are constantly being bombarded with vicious, malicious, or at the very least, negative reports. Someone is always accusing someone else of impropriety or illegal activity. We just believe that’s not healthy and want to encourage people to do something about it this year.”

According to the FBI, there are some 600 field agents now focused on investigating election-law-related accusations. Such complaints have increased 850% since the Bush/Gore showdown of 2000. Says Standridge, “You have to wonder whether political corruption has really increased by such an extreme amount or whether the sensational rhetoric has just increased the sensitivity and cynicism of the public.”

Standridge and co-author Tim Kellerman are urging Americans to take a 30-day break from any type of critical, negative, or inflammatory news reports sometime prior to Election Day in November. They’re recommending the observance of this “negativity blackout” during the entire month of September. Kellerman explains, “The negative, critical and accusatory environment to which we subject ourselves is very damaging. It’s damaging to our psyche, it’s damaging to our relationships, and it’s damaging to our country. What better way to keep the bad habits of negativity and cynicism in check than to boycott them for a short period of time, especially right before the storm intensifies as we approach Super Tuesday?”




The pair recommends following these three simple steps during this month-long blackout:
• Make a commitment to a 30-day “Negativity Blackout,” not only from the various sources of media, but from other sources as well, including personal conversations
• Enlist the help of one or more friends and family to hold you accountable for the full blackout period
• Replace normal radio/TV entertainment with positive, encouraging or inspirational music, reading, or TV viewing

“Rather than listening to the same destructive political commentary on the radio,” suggests Kellerman, “reach up and change the station. There are a host of positive, encouraging radio stations across the country.” Radio listeners searching for such a station may visit www.AbundantLifeProject.com for state-by-state listings.

The Authors also recommend making a conscious choice about the speed with which one lets the negativity habit creep back in. “Once you’ve kicked a bad habit, observes Standridge, “you tend to think long and hard before you let it get to you again.”


Jeff D. Standridge and Tim Kellerman are co-Founders of the Abundant Life Project (www.AbundantLifeProject.com) and co-authors of The Abundance Principle: Five Keys to Extraordinary Living (www.TheAbundancePrinciple.com). They can be reached at Info@AbundantLifeProject.com or by telephone at 501.514.3206.

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