The politicians want you to avoid the news. You would think the media wants you to pay attention to the news yet they work hand in hand with the politicians to make many people avoid it. I guess everybody will watch the news when big events happen but for day to day viewership they want the political news junkies to be a steady audience. As a result more and more people get their news from secondary sources, Facebook, Twitter, and late night entertainment as examples. The result is everyone being less aware, the regular people just aren’t paying attention, and the news junkies are getting fed a steady diet of carefully crafted political distractions.
Due to the intensity of politics and its relentless invasion into every space of our lives, avoidance is not only a good strategy, it’s the healthiest one. I’m not advocating ignorance, but constant immersion in the latest outrage is pointless. I don’t know how this will play out long term, but I find myself retreating further and further from our culture. On FB I’ve been on an unfriending spree because of politics-oriented posts. Oddly enough I’ve dropped more people on my side of the aisle than the other. I fondly remember a time when I didn’t know the politics of entertainers, reporters, sports figures, and the majority of my friends. And I personally am returning to it, by changing what I watch, and who I associate with.
So, what am I doing now that I’ve banished the comedians, talking heads, yammering starlets, and idiots who demand “Share and Like if you agree”?
Spent last weekend reading and fishing, and enjoyed this sunset while camping at the lake,
Wandered up a tributary and found this abandoned cabin,
Took a ride on this train just to see the countryside.
Other than the SDMB, I’m keeping politics and most entertainment (same thing) out of my life. The TV is only for DVDs and Netflix. I already know how I’m going to vote, so why bother?
The author Joel Hirst says it better than I ever could - quoting part of his article:
*Have you listened to the anthems, considering so great a sacrifice; hiked the purple mountains of your lands and marveled at their beauty? Have you skied the storied slopes? Have you bathed in the temperate waters, ignoring the transient affiliations of the beach-goers, irrelevant against the blanketing sun? Have you reveled in the power of the written word without having to ask yourself to what service they are surrendered?
Have you lived your life? And do you love it?
This is what they would take from us – those who think in groups, and invite you to do the same. … They mandate that before you watch that movie you consider party; as to entertain – to stand between – loses its great calling. They require that you choose your champions based not upon reasons that arise from birthplace or camaraderie, colors or community but instead petty, partisan politics.
Politics. It is everywhere these days, isn’t it? In the chicken sandwich; in the Broadway Theater; in the church pew and most recently in the bar beside the plate of Nachos and lite beer as you celebrate your lineup. Politics in the soup; politics for breakfast and lunch and dinner; politics on the Wheaties box and in the Disney cartoons. Politics during “Top Forty” and on the front of the sports section and in the comics. Politics, that spiked club with which the unenlightened beat each other. I, for one, have had enough. I want to watch a sunset without seeing red – I want to choose a novel without wondering if my dollar is to be used to do me harm – and I wish to enjoy my team as a moment of respite, to revel in a contest which is not existential, which does not empower those who seek my downfall.
I want to live my life free of those who would poison the fountains of happiness in my grumpy old republic. Is that too much to ask?*
Yes.
One needs to be sufficiently informed and motivated to go out and vote when the time comes, and/or (if you feel up to it) to engage in campaigning on whatever issue is important to you. But no-one is obliged to listen to other people’s political arguments, or to expect to have a non-stop supply of news pushed at you (rather than available to you when you wish to know about it).
So yes, don’t open social media or listen to/watch broadcast media just because it’s there. Pick and choose to suit your tastes and mood. Read a book, listen to music, go for a walk in the country… whatever.
So what was the question? Why does a beacon of Democracy throw away their own Democracy? Avoidance. This avoidance didn’t happen overnight. Republicans and lobbyists have spent a lot of time and money to slowly take away the power of our vote.
How did they do that? Our population decided to AVOID the tough issues and decided to believe what ever they saw on tv, the internet, or their FB page. Avoiding personal responsibility for their poor choices while voting only made the Trumpsters more attractive.
Avoidance will always be the reasons why so many bad Republicans still keep their office.
Thanks for making this completely partisan and superficial, so I can now avoid this thread, too. You think Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi keep their jobs because people are paying attention?
None of the stuff you listed in the first paragraph is the news itself. It’s talking about the news. Before you just actively disconnect from everything try just screening out the news related noise, Try to focus on the old saying - “News you can use.”
I’ve also seen some research that suggest we respond more emotionally when seeing video of emotionally strong content than when we read about. See the people in pain, pissed off, dying, etc makes us respond on a more emotional than rational level. Since you imply being emotionally burned out by the constant news cycle you might want to focus gathering news from the written word.