I didn’t watch the debate last night.
I would rather watch the warm fall rain sliding down a window, the foam of an extra-creamy latte. I’d rather lose myself in another DVR’ed episode of “New Girl” and curl up with The Casual Vacancy. I can crochet scarves, work on my travel memoir (which I will do), pet my dog, tease my boyfriend.
Anything is better than getting battered by politics.
American discourse is so ugly at the moment. Between the Facebook rantings, nasty Twitter posts, endless political commercials cluttering up my otherwise peaceful watching of “Jeopardy!” and the fact that the candidates are everywhere, I’m anxious and annoyed all the time. I know some political buffs live for this, but it’s just . . . making me unhappy.
We talk about the need to “unplug” at times, shunning our computers and social media in favor of a peaceful walk, some time with family. I don’t have the option of ducking my desktop (all work) and iPhone, but I can choose not to spend my free time feeding into the general anxiety of the current political environment.
An author friend wrote on Facebook last night, “To me, the debates contribute to what I call the ‘invisible stress’ that’s permeated our society after 9/11. Things have just gotten nastier, the atmosphere poisoned by greed and fear. The last way I want to spend my night is watching two skilled politicians bare their teeth.”
And I couldn’t agree more.
My mind is already made up, and Nov. 6 can’t come soon enough.
(And in that vein, plan to vote: I’d wager it’ll be a close one. And if you think you don’t matter, you do.)
write meg! 
Amen, Meg! I could second your every statement here.
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I’m with you. I plan to vote. I understand the commercials and their necessity. I don’t like sharing or discussing politics with friends and family. There is horrible level of hostility in the air and honestly I don’t need it. Anyone that talks politics usually gets muted or blocked. I’ll do some unmuting and unblocking after the election.
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BTW, I spent the debate in a dark room with a book. It was lovely.
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One more thing: I think there is a common misconception in our society that our friends must share our views. Lets assume that isn’t true and keep it to ourselves. Sorry I posted so much. Can you tell you touched on a sensitive spot? 🙂
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I don’t discuss politics with anyone either! I’m tired of people spamming my Facebook feed too both because of the spamming and because of their need to try to force their view.
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Agreed on all fronts– I turned on the debate for about 30 seconds and couldn’t bring myself to continue watching. I perform my civic duty and vote responsibly, but New Girl and my dog win out every time when paired against watching two men degrade each other publicly. I get enough of that every morning when I turn on the news and I’m bombarded with commercials about how no one lives up to their promises and are pure evil! Ugh. Thanks!
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My work is heavily impacted by politics, so I can’t tune things out, and even being a small politcs wonk, I do find elections exhausting for many of the reasons you shared. It’s very tough, wanting to ensure that voters are/feel informed and making space to tune out the negativity — I watched the debate but felt very depressed. Trying to do some lovely stuff this weekend to balance things out!
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I completely agree. I will absolutely vote, but I am so sick of the dirty plitical ads that have been on TV for the past 2 months. No one talks about what they stand for, they just attack the other person. It’s exhausting.
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I will vote, and I did watch last night. But I drank, contrary to my “no drinking during the week” rule, and proceeded to fall asleep. My skin CRAWLS when I hear or read this stuff. I’d love to congratulate the power that be for completely polarizing America, and making my stomach hurt in general.
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I did watch a wee bit of the debate last night, but I tend not to talk about politics with anyone other than my husband and my mom, two people who I can agree with or disagree with but without fighting.
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Lovely, lovely post! I try not to post about politics much, but when I do, I try to make sure it’s obvious that what I am saying isn’t 100% serious…meaning, I don’t want a huge debate to begin! I wasn’t planning to watch, but then I did…ooops.
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As long as you know what the candidates stand for that’s the most important thing. Debates can just turn into shouting matches which can unfortunately be off-putting.
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Great post — I’m feeling the same way. I actually got rid of my TV service nearly three years ago (I still have a TV and an antenna, but I never know when stuff is on so I rarely watch anything). I have to say, being free from the political ads is one of the biggest blessings of having no TV. (Another is being free from all of the Christmas marketing…which has already started!)
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Oh my gosh Meg, I sigh through all of this. I read and write and listen to music and look at trees. Anything to avoid the noise. 🙂
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100% in agreement, Meg. You go!
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I’m not American and even I’ve been inundated with news about the debate. I’ll join you with your coffee and books. Cheers to ignoring politicians.
Also, I’m Australian and we HAVE to vote. It’s a lesser of two evils situation down here unfortunately.
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I’m with you – politics has gotten so ugly, it just turns me off. I’ll be voting too!
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Agreed! I fell asleep after their opening statements 🙂
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