Monday, November 15, 2010

News: A Catch-22

I am a political news junkie.

Lately, though, I find that I'm in a much better mood when I don't surf the political blogs (both conservative and liberal - I like to read both sides of the story), check out the comment boards, or peruse the mainstream media websites.

Man, that stuff can really get my blood boiling. Which makes me question why I do it in the first place. I can only think that I am a passionate person with passionate beliefs and very firmly held views of right and wrong.

But when it starts wearing on me, leaving me physically and emotionally exhausted, that's when I need to step back and re-evaluate why I'm reading the news at all. Is it because I like the conflict (thinly disguised as opposing ideas) or because I want to become more enlightened? A little of both, I'm afraid.

So I take breaks. Sometimes they're long ones. I can go for a week or more without checking out the latest political scandal, and my blood pressure thanks me for it. Then something will happen and I'll get sucked right back in.

Right now, I'm declaring the news (at least the political news) off limits for awhile. Time to sink into my story and lose myself in my characters' world for awhile.

What about you? Are you a news junkie or a news phobic?

4 comments:

  1. News junkie here, but I get very burnt out sometimes. When that happens, I'll spend a week with no television or radio stimulation. No newspapers. Minimum internet news.

    I will stick my nose in a dusty ol' favorite book and/or repotting orchids.

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  2. I'm neither. I pretty much catch the headlines and find them sufficient without getting into the network/newspaper/journalist spin often put on them. A few stories I'll pursue further, but not many.

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  3. I used to be but no longer. Now I'm a MUCH happy camper.

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  4. I declared myself on a break some months ago. I still keep informed, but I stay away from the spin-heavy sites. I stay away from TV/cable news entirely. Much, much happier.

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