Over the last couple of years there have been lots of political developments that seem pretty awful. This isn’t new- every decade has challenges. Somehow, though, my reaction is different. I’m angry. I write cranky letters to the Washington Post, rage on twitter, and occasionslly go to protests. This is new. I don’t yell at kids to stay off my lawn, but somehow feel like Im turning into a cranky old man. Trump had made me crazy. Is it just me? Anybody else feel this way? Maybe it’s time to stop listening to Rachel Maddow and reading newspapers for a while…
It’s not just you.
I really dislike Trump, and many of his policies. I think it’s a travesty that our country managed to elect a con artist, serial philanderer (and possibly sexual abuser), and intellectually incurious person to the presidency.
But, what has made me a cranky old man about his presidency is how it’s politics 24/7 for so many people now, and how they view supporters of the other party as not just political opponents, but enemies. People are eagerly willing to believe (and share) ridiculously made-up things about politicians they oppose, because it fits their narrative of the opposition as being mustache-twirling cartoon villains.
I’ve largely stepped away from Facebook over the past year, because so many people with whom I’m friends are just obsessed with posting political stuff. Even though I’m politically aligned with most of those friends, it is just TOO MUCH. Seriously, do you really need to re-post 20 political things every single day?
Similarly, I find I have a low tolerance for watching the national news; it’s obsessive about politics now. And, I rarely venture into the Elections forum here (much less the Pit) because actual discussion and debate is a thing of the past – it’s just supporters from both sides yelling past each other.
It’s been coming for a while now, and it didn’t happen overnight, but politics has consumed our culture, and become absolutely toxic. For me, it’s wearing on the soul, and I’ve made myself disconnect from those conversations and those media.
I’ve actively avoided the national news for several months. It was depressing me. I found myself crying, for real, during the Kavanaugh hearings. I decided no more. Turned it off. I will watch CNN only if there’s breaking news, a shooting or disaster going on.
You summed it up quite nicely. With the single exception of large-scale natural disasters (floods, hurricanes) I haven’t watched a single minute of national news since the election. And to the extent possible, I avoid any venue that shows it in their establishment. Guess what? It turns out you don’t really “need to know”, on a daily basis. I can learn about the candidates from their websites when it is near time to vote.
Before this decision, I spent a while keeping notes on news stories, asking the same simple question for each: “Do I need to do anything differently today because of this?” The only yes answers were for local weather and traffic, and even those were rare.
I decided the people around me who are constantly debating politics are themselves toxic, and jettisoned all from my life. My FB feed is only kid pics, vacations, and (non-political) humor.
I am taking a break from a lot of things now. I’ve spent the majority of my life following politics, and volunteering time and money to organizations that I support (political and charitable). Some I’ve supported regularly for over 30 years. But it’s my time now. I retired recently and refuse to participate anymore. I’ve done my part, but have now withdrawn from the fights, culture wars, constant appeals for donations, and most of all, the toxic spread of politics into every aspect of our lives. I’m hella introverted anyway, so peaceful solitude is preferable. My time, money and effort are reserved only for my own enjoyment and that of close family.
It’s time to walk away from it.
Maybe it’s time to start reading the papers and following politics. Ignoring it won’t make it go away.
Ignoring it won’t make it go away, but neither will reading about it.
What I’ve found most helpful is organizing. I’ve become much more active in my union, and my wife has been helping out with both the Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters. And our contributions to groups like the ACLU and RAICES, as well as local groups doing the work, have gone way up.
Doing something to help make change is the best antidote to the feelings of impotent rage.
If you don’t know what the problem is, you’re not going to be trying to fix it.
I personally suspect this is actually part of what’s going on- overwhelm people with petty scandals that aren’t fixable or especially important, but get lots of attention. Many opponents will then either get bogged down in meaningless detail, or just get exhausted and tune out altogether, letting the more serious stuff pass.
I’m coming from a UK perspective, but it seems to me that’s happening in the US as well. It’s an effective tactic in the Internet age; using instant communication to cause information overload.
I take frequent breaks, as seeing that dipshit in the news every day is just soul crushing. After watching “The Big Hack”, it would seem that we truly have little control over elections now; whichever party can come up with the sleaziest data manipulation will likely win any given election. You can trust very little of what you read or hear. The nightly news is just a litany of pain, suffering and fear mongering, so I tune it out.
Good advice for some, but what does it have to do with people like the OP who are already OD-ing on it?
What’s going on is important. But so is one’s own mental and emotional health.
The OP could engage in useful activism, like the woman in this story.
Well, right. I’m not advocating unplugging.
I used to make sure to watch Meet The Pess every week. Now I have no need to tune in. Nothing gets accomplished watching talking heads opinionate about the disgusting mess of our national political situation. I have the internet, and all of the latest stupidity is brought to me without me having to go out of my way.
I donate to the ACLU and others because they actually accomplish things. That’s much better. It’s still fucked out there, but the TV heads don’t accomplish much if they’re not sharing new information. I don’t need their opinions.
Well if you want to take a break from most political posts in Straight Dope Joey P has a solution:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=880456
You would add Elections (forum 34) so it would be exclude 5,34
thus excluding the Pit and Elections–which are where the vast bulk of the political stuff here is.
Yes, Trump sends my stress level through the stratosphere too. I’ve always valued truth, honesty and understanding context before reacting to an issue. Trump is the exact opposite of that. I’ve always believed in fiscal responsibility, but Trump shattered that and sent us into the worst ever national debt. Just when I think he’s bottomed out, he goes even lower. It’s like he delights in throwing everything into drama and chaos so he can be the center of attention, especially if he tears down something people who disagree with him value. There’s an awful lot of fighting and aggression, not to mention all the mass shooting, and he just fiddles while Rome burns.
Yet somehow he persuaded more voters to pick him to be in charge. It disappoints me how so many people can be voluntarily fooled in an age where information is instantly available at their fingertips. He’s a spoiled child who answers criticism with playground insults. The only job I ever walked out from was because the company president was just like Trump. I have no tolerance for people with that kind of personality, and now my worst nightmare has come true. I can’t walk out of this situation without moving out of the country I love. All I can do is take the Buddhist attitude to minimize the effects of strife by embracing my own inner peace.
See my comment about “The Big Hack”, above. Using data to target on-the-fence voters is the new normal, and it worked for Trump. Cambridge Analytica was the instrument, and the Republican party was the beneficiary.
I have long said there are two main political parties, the Scumbags & the Slimeballs - my problem is remembering which one of those is on the left & which one is on the right!
The big candidates (president, senator, govenor) I can find all of the information I need to make an informed decision; it’s the lessor known ones (state rep, local officials) that I have a hard time voting for because one can’t find objective information on them.
I never bother to look there because I find them to be all unicorn farts & puppies. They [del]take credit for other’s work[/del] tell you about the good they’ve done & are wishy-washy, at best, frequently ignoring the ‘hot button’ issues (which they have no control over at that lower level) let alone the more substantive ones; I’m not a one-issue voter. They also never mention anything negative about themselves. Certain transgressions I can overlook; not paying taxes for multiple years in a row? Our government is funded on taxes & you aren’t participating at the most basic level but you want the benefits (pay check) sorry, that alone almost disqualifies you (only exception is if the other candidate is even worse).
This is where I am, and have been since Obama was elected. Maybe I have a lower tolerance. Anyway, I haven’t walked away completely, but I have taken a step or three back. I heavily filter the news I pay attention too. Sometimes I might be a couple days behind, but <shrug> eh.
Some years ago, I was finally able to discern that the difference between the two major parties is: “Democrat” is a sneering pejorative while “Republican” is a viscious slur.