After the 2016 election I spent 6 months obsessively following federal politics. I didn’t sleep well, I didn’t eat properly, my relationships suffered. Now I don’t read the news. I volunteer...
After the 2016 election I spent 6 months obsessively following federal politics. I didn’t sleep well, I didn’t eat properly, my relationships suffered.
Now I don’t read the news. I volunteer locally, I vote. I write my congressperson. I try not to think about the things I can do nothing about, because it was ruining my mental health.
I like the idea of working within a sphere of control. As long as a person is doing something, though! Becoming passive and watching Parks & Rec for the fifth time will not help. In fact, that is...
I like the idea of working within a sphere of control. As long as a person is doing something, though! Becoming passive and watching Parks & Rec for the fifth time will not help. In fact, that is probably what those in power would like us to do. It's Brave New World to the T.
Yeah; My wife got me to read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and it helped me snap out of it. I had been wasting so much energy worrying about things I was powerless to change. Realizing that...
Yeah; My wife got me to read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and it helped me snap out of it. I had been wasting so much energy worrying about things I was powerless to change. Realizing that helped me pull my focus back to the local level.
I'm similarly looking to 'snap out of it' (realizing that I should probably just read the book) but wondering what some of the habits were that caught your attention and allowed you to focus on...
I'm similarly looking to 'snap out of it' (realizing that I should probably just read the book) but wondering what some of the habits were that caught your attention and allowed you to focus on something other than the state of our federal government?
Specifically realize that there's functionally nothing you can do about the state of the federal govt. To that end, reading about the political machinations on the scale of the federal government...
Specifically realize that there's functionally nothing you can do about the state of the federal govt. To that end, reading about the political machinations on the scale of the federal government is harming you without bringing any benefit to you, the people you care about, or the government you're worried about.
All of that focus and worry is wasted. What isn't wasted is when you work in your community, fight the fight on a human scale where your personal efforts can make a difference. A lot of the important fights are happening at a level where you can make a difference. If you can be involved in your local community, that is the level where you can be effective.
I can't say I'm disappointed in camping trips going up, but I am bummed that the fatigue is getting to people so much that they're tuning out completely. Perhaps less aggressive news like NPR...
I can't say I'm disappointed in camping trips going up, but I am bummed that the fatigue is getting to people so much that they're tuning out completely.
Perhaps less aggressive news like NPR would help, but that doesn't bring in the ratings and ad money!
PBS is generally pretty good, I can't think of many who would call it aggressive. C-SPAN is probably the most accurate source for US political news (given that it's literally a live feed of...
PBS is generally pretty good, I can't think of many who would call it aggressive. C-SPAN is probably the most accurate source for US political news (given that it's literally a live feed of political happenings), but oftentimes it can be aggressively boring.
I don't blame people for tuning out. I personally only real foreign news regarding the US. They have less of a partisan interest in my opinion. Kind of crappy that I have to read foreign news to...
I don't blame people for tuning out. I personally only real foreign news regarding the US. They have less of a partisan interest in my opinion. Kind of crappy that I have to read foreign news to figure out what is going on in my own country.
I know I've significantly pared down the amount of news I consume - I'm down to just reading the digital version of WaPos "daily paper" (in contrast to the front-page, which updates all the time,...
I know I've significantly pared down the amount of news I consume - I'm down to just reading the digital version of WaPos "daily paper" (in contrast to the front-page, which updates all the time, "today's paper" only updates once a day).
It hits the right balance between "breaking news" and well-researched pieces in my opinion. Clickbait articles certainly weren't invented after the election, but it's only gotten worse over time. I guess this is my antidote.
After the 2016 election I spent 6 months obsessively following federal politics. I didn’t sleep well, I didn’t eat properly, my relationships suffered.
Now I don’t read the news. I volunteer locally, I vote. I write my congressperson. I try not to think about the things I can do nothing about, because it was ruining my mental health.
I like the idea of working within a sphere of control. As long as a person is doing something, though! Becoming passive and watching Parks & Rec for the fifth time will not help. In fact, that is probably what those in power would like us to do. It's Brave New World to the T.
Yeah; My wife got me to read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and it helped me snap out of it. I had been wasting so much energy worrying about things I was powerless to change. Realizing that helped me pull my focus back to the local level.
I'm similarly looking to 'snap out of it' (realizing that I should probably just read the book) but wondering what some of the habits were that caught your attention and allowed you to focus on something other than the state of our federal government?
Specifically realize that there's functionally nothing you can do about the state of the federal govt. To that end, reading about the political machinations on the scale of the federal government is harming you without bringing any benefit to you, the people you care about, or the government you're worried about.
All of that focus and worry is wasted. What isn't wasted is when you work in your community, fight the fight on a human scale where your personal efforts can make a difference. A lot of the important fights are happening at a level where you can make a difference. If you can be involved in your local community, that is the level where you can be effective.
I can't say I'm disappointed in camping trips going up, but I am bummed that the fatigue is getting to people so much that they're tuning out completely.
Perhaps less aggressive news like NPR would help, but that doesn't bring in the ratings and ad money!
PBS is generally pretty good, I can't think of many who would call it aggressive. C-SPAN is probably the most accurate source for US political news (given that it's literally a live feed of political happenings), but oftentimes it can be aggressively boring.
I don't blame people for tuning out. I personally only real foreign news regarding the US. They have less of a partisan interest in my opinion. Kind of crappy that I have to read foreign news to figure out what is going on in my own country.
I know I've significantly pared down the amount of news I consume - I'm down to just reading the digital version of WaPos "daily paper" (in contrast to the front-page, which updates all the time, "today's paper" only updates once a day).
It hits the right balance between "breaking news" and well-researched pieces in my opinion. Clickbait articles certainly weren't invented after the election, but it's only gotten worse over time. I guess this is my antidote.