Like I Was Saying...
In the grand scheme of things, I’m only one guy.
I follow politics a lot, much to my detriment.
Don’t get me wrong; I like being informed. I like the idea of being “in the know.”
Still, there’s a fight in Congress about the debt ceiling and some bill with a clunky title, reconciliation.
I have a fuzzy notion of what is at stake regarding the debt ceiling and how it affects the government and society.
I also know about this massive huge infrastructure bill the Dems are trying to pass. I can tell you enough vague things about it and why they shouldn’t pass it. I know enough to say, if Democrats do pass it, it could wreak havoc on aspects of my life.
Hell, inflation is killing me right now; from gas prices to the uptick in the cost of grocery shopping. Meat is way high, which makes the Carnivore Diet almost cost-prohibitive. It sucks.
I say this because here’s what I can do about it: almost nothing.
Look, I voted in the last general election. Truth be told, my guy lost. I voted for Mean Tweets. Whether that my guy was cheated is irrelevant now.
But thinking about it, I’m only one vote, once voice in a sea of millions of other voices.
I’m good with my local representation. Sure, I’ve got some yahoo representing me on the state level, but my side owns a vast majority of the state legislature.
So I’m good there.
The only reason I bring this up is that I don’t think I’m getting my return on investment of my time in the news I’m following.
Being informed is a byproduct of my parents. They read the paper as much as possible and watch the news to be in the know.
Of course, like most people, they gravitated to cable news, which is problematic. Journalism isn’t what it used to be. Yes, the news is dominated by a different political ideology that runs country to mine.
Towards the end of his life, Dad and I were at odds in our political ideology. Dad imbibed and parroted cable new’s talking points. Mom followed suit. I didn't watch the news but read enough to know where it was coming from.
A couple of years ago, I weaned myself off Cable News. I would watch it in the morning and argue with the stories on my commute to work. Watching the news put me in a bad headspace. I’d walk into work angry and bitter at the world, which was a bad thing, especially for an aspiring salesman.
Luckily, Lucy and I decided to cut cable due to costs. We were paying several hundred dollars for me to get pissed off so our son could watch cartoons. It didn’t make any sense.
Cutting cable was one of the best decisions of my life.
Thing is, filling the vacuum was the iPhone 3GS.
I slowly became addicted to Social Media; so Twitter and Facebook filled the void. I had traded one drug for another.
That’s why part of my new plan is to regain some semblance of control in my life.
And here’s what I know, if nothing else, I’m only one vote. And that’s it. Other than that, there ain’t much I can do about some of the other things that don’t directly affect my life.
Here is what I know: I’m only one vote. That’s it. Nothing more.