# I'm done with the agita **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 3, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681 "2024-07-03T14:13:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2024, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/41 "2024-07-04T21:27:39Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/42 "2024-07-05T01:34:19Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It is an addiction, and like any addiction, it can be conquered. But first you’ve got to want to. And then you’ve got stop mainlining the smack. Which almost, but not quite requires your spouse, housemates, etc., to stop mainlining smack too. When all your friends and your social life is at the bar, qiving up drinking is about a LOT more than “just” giving up alcohol. Which is no picnic all by itself. Same for quitting mainlining propaganda. It’s a slice of isolating humble pie enough to choke a rhino. Sad, but true. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/43 "2024-07-05T12:38:11Z")
I quit smoking over 40 years ago, so this should be a piece of cake. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/44 "2024-07-05T12:52:16Z")
George Carlin explained how he improved his life by abandoning all hope for the future. [This is probably it, but I can’t check now because my SO is asleep in the same room I’m in.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BdBF8c07cs) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/45 "2024-07-05T14:38:02Z")
That’s wonderful, @commasense! I just signed up too. July 3rd I went to bed at the usual time, but kept waking up. And every time I did, I’d lie there fretting about the future, thinking about the Supreme Court, etc. So I took July 4th off from checking on any news or politics and I also feel a bit better, though still scared. I think the postcards will help me as well. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/46 "2024-07-05T14:56:38Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > That’s wonderful, @commasense! I just signed up too. Thanks. I’m happy to spread the word. Fellow Dopers, please pass the idea along to all of your friends. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/47 "2024-07-05T15:12:50Z")
The agita is baked-in, but I do sometimes console myself with the thought that I’ll probably be dead before too much horrific stuff happens. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/48 "2024-07-05T15:38:51Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I think the postcards will help me as well. It does, oddly enough. It’s like doing canvassing, which we also did one year, but without rude people slamming the door in your face. One thing to know about these postcards is that they are anonymous and they are a-political. The message is basically that voting is extremely important, so exercise your right. That doesn’t mean they’re not targeted. I’m pretty sure they are aimed at a certain demographic. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/49 "2024-07-05T16:09:13Z")
I stopped watching MSNBC awhile back. I was so sick of Jonathon Lemire never missing a chance to insult Biden. Joe and Mika and Katy too. I know they have their talking orders by the owners of all the networks, who appear to all be right wing. Twitter is just full of garbage. I noticed earlier today that my feed is full of stuff from years ago. I am a bit addicted to it anyway, but I keep trying to limit my intake. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/50 "2024-07-05T16:46:43Z")
I keep telling myself I should be doing this. I have enough personal drama in my life now (in addition to things I’ve discussed in other threads) that I really don’t need to add to it. I never watch the news on TV, so I’m spared that source of annoyance. I keep telling myself I should skip over things in the newspaper (yes, I’m one those old fogeys who still gets a paper delivered) and stop reading the relevant threads here in the Pit. Unfortunately, I also get occasionally bombarded by them on Facebook (one of the groups I’m a member of them keeps getting trolled by anti-Trump and anti-Biden memes, which for some reason the admins make no effort to control). I have finally stopped trying to complain about them, and just make liberal (pun not intended) use of the scroll wheel on my mouse. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/51 "2024-07-05T18:52:47Z")
My Twitter feed is carefully curated to have zero politics content, or as close to that as possible. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/52 "2024-07-05T19:17:52Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Everything I need to know will filter down somehow, and there is no sense for my mental health to surround myself with news. The news is there, pretty much, to make you angry and keep you watching. I don’t have time for that. Bill Burr had an interesting take on the news- I don’t know if it’s a bit of his, or just something I heard him say on a podcast, but the gist of it was “what, even, is the point of the news, anyway? Why do I need to know about a plane crash or an earthquake that killed a bunch of people halfway around the world? It just makes me feel bad and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it”. I don’t know if I quite agree with that level of disconnection, but Burr (and pulykamell) have a point— the news, other than the occasional token ‘feel good’ piece, is 100% bad, and only ever serves to make one feel sad and / or angry. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/53 "2024-07-05T19:57:06Z")
“news” as a roster of event narratives is mostly useless. There are millions of events every day that might qualify for an even semi-complete list. SOme sort of gestalt is much more useful. Which is why for years I’ve favored weekly news mags over daily newspapers or, worse yet, 24/7 TV blather. More big picture, less specific anecdote. The problem is all the news media, even the weeklies, are switching to the continuous feed model of event vignettes. There’s a lot more opportunity to show ads that way. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/54 "2024-07-06T14:10:02Z")
I sat in the living room with my headphones on, watching a Hulu series while the wife watched the national news last night. I could hear her yelling at the TV on occasion and was really happy that I wasn’t engaged with it. Front page of the paper this morning had a headline about Biden, but I flipped it over without reading it. Run, don’t run, whatever. I’ll find out on election day. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/55 "2024-07-06T15:00:44Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > We’re MSNBC junkies, and lately I’ve found myself saying more and more to my wife, “We have to switch channels, I can’t watch any more of this.” I am often in genuine despair. I used to come home at night and put on MSNBC to listen to talking heads yammer on for a couple of hours before bed. Now, when I come home I put on the marathon of “Forensic Files”, the true life murder mystery show. I am sincere when I say that I find it much more uplifting. I’m with the OP, and I have been since about 15 minutes into that debate. I live in MAGA country, and I just don’t want to discuss politics until after the election - here or elsewhere. I know who I’m voting for, and that’s enough. > [@GailForce](#): > > George Carlin explained how he improved his life by abandoning all hope for the future… I’ve actually thought of Carlin lately, and I agree that he offers useful wisdom. I haven’t checked out your link yet, but I recall him recognizing an ability to watch the human race destroy itself without identifying with it. It’s sort of the type of morbid curiosity you get from seeing a car accident on the side of the road. For the rest of my years I’m going to strive to satisfy my material desires, and I’ll leave the rest of humanity to do what it will, and just hope that it doesn’t destroy my little speck of civilization in the next 50 years (which would be a very optimistic estimate of the time I have left). I’ve given up caring about all the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/56 "2024-07-06T15:29:16Z")
Well stated. I have also decided to use the rest of my time here on earth enjoying as much as I can. Traveling, buying some new clothing, making my surroundings comfortable, etc. I have anywhere from maybe 5 - 20 years left depending. Viva la civilization speck! Love your phraseology with this. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/57 "2024-07-06T15:45:22Z")
I might have felt the same as @Moriarty, @Ellecram, and others if, fourteen years ago, I hadn’t married a woman with three grown children who now between them have six grandchildren. We can’t afford to not care about the future. It’s not clear what any of us can do, but I hope that if things get bad, those of you with no posterity to worry about will be on the side of those of us who do, and offer some help. “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is that good men do nothing.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/58 "2024-07-06T15:49:33Z")
Oh, I’m fairly sure that all of us vote. We’re just opting out of all the clamor and hysteria coming out of the media. Most of the online news is just clickbait with little substance, designed to make you angry or indignant. I have some 14 grandchildren, and I am of course concerned about their futures, but my own mental health has to come first. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/59 "2024-07-06T16:14:49Z")
I’m sure everyone here will be voting, that wasn’t my concern. I just hope if it comes to marching, protesting, manning the ramparts, etc., that some of you will join in. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681/60 "2024-07-06T16:36:42Z")
At my age and with life altering health conditions all I can do is vote and do postcards/canvasing. I do what I can. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-done-with-the-agita/1003681.md?page=4)