Some advice to get through election season in these our latter days
The good thing about examining one's life is that, if done diligently, one discovers modalities so that the world's bull-chit doesn't impinge too fiercely on one's equanimity. I.e., you learn not to harsh your mellow.
I'm just a dude with thoughts about things. But for whatever reason, y'all seem to think that I have something worthwhile to say. So, please allow me to introduce myself, er, I mean, offer some tips for not losing your shpadoinkles with every twist and turn of the silliness of existence as we careen into the election cycle.
Social media
Recently I've come to that realization with Twitter. I'll go on it as if I'm conducting an anthropological and sociological experiment. I don't engage. I don't respond. I simply observe and draw conclusions. This goes for both outrage farmers on the Left as well as the Right.
Social media is a valuable resource for seeing how the extremes operate. And notice I say "extremes". Social media is designed to push forward these extremes, because these extremes generate engagement, which then generate revenue for the platforms. It's purposeful.
In order to navigate social media, you must be—like Jerry Seinfeld—master of your domain. Again, you can't control what you see, but you can control how you react. Be detached. Be still. People are awful, have been awful, and will be awful, since the dawn of humanity. And the anonymity of social media heightens this. But their awfulness has nothing to do with you. You can look at it with an arched brow and learn from their pathology. You can glean valuable information. You are much stronger than you give yourself credit for. The abyss is not your master. Like the Laughing Jesus of gnostic myth, you can mock their delusions. Control social media, don't let it control you.
Polling
Oh boy. This one is one we've been conditioned to fuss and fret over. The surfeit of polling began when Barack Obama became president. Because "holy shit how did a ni-CLANG become president?! We have to have polling every day on this!"
Just yesterday CNN had a poll which averred that voters trust the GOP Congress over President Biden to handle issues of concern. And the usual suspects raised a hue and cry of doom and despair, just like they did at the New York Times' farcical poll earlier showing Trump and Pres. Biden tied.
Folks, again. Take every poll with a kilogram of salt. Every. Single. One. These polls are designed for one thing: to drive engagement. To make you panic and tune in or click. Don't fall for the okey-doke. Polling showed the GOP heading to a blowout last November. So, yeah.
Listen to music. Touch grass. Chill. Polling has replaced reporting and analysis. Polling stands in the place of news, and then gets reported on as news. Morning Consult had polling which showed Pres. Biden handily beating Trump, both in a head-to-head and a three-way race. But, of course, that doesn't drive eyeballs and clicks. Fear and gloom do. Like with social media, don't fall for it. View polling critically, using your reason and good sense. Yes, be master of your domain.
Master your domain
Hah! Of course I was going to write a section with that. (Considering that I'm not a huge Seinfeld fan, it's odd I'm using this trope.)
Don't focus on the negative: "If Trump wins we're done." Focus on the positive: "What can I do as an individual to make sure Joe Biden wins?"
And yes, it's Pres. Biden or Trump. There's no nuance, no third party, no "a pox on both their houses". That's the brass tacks. I'm sure no one who reads and comments on this blog thinks a third party is a viable option. But in our interactions with others who may be leaning that way we have to make that clear. It's either Joe or Trump. There's no in-between.
Once my wife has a few paychecks, we'll be donating, maybe to the max allowed. If you can't donate but can write postcards, do that. Or phone bank, or volunteer in other ways. Politics is a retail business, and the personal touch is what wins over voters.
But mastering your domain means more than that. It means self-care. Again, go for walks, read, binge-watch a show. Don't consume yourself with politics. Life is so much more than that. People who live only for politics lead a poverty of a life. As Scripture says, quite wisely, one cannot live on bread alone. One needs more to fill one's life to make it complete and worth living. You will burn out if you focus on just the election. Life is to be lived.
Anyway, our self-care is tomorrow. Have a glorious Friday.
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