> And some of it may not affect you directly but affects people in the communities you live in. A Supreme Court nominee had allegations of sexual assault and gambling problems brought against him. Regardless of what you believe, it behooves you to be aware that this is happening. If the accusations were true don’t you want to know? It affects the women in your life to have someone like that be given a lifelong appointment to the most powerful court of the land. If the accusations weren’t, wouldn’t that be important too?
This example is exactly why someone should ignore the news. This was pure partisan bickering and mud slinging. Not once during the whole episode were Kavanaugh's actual positions discussed. Just rumors, gossip, fighting and soundbites. No one came out ahead paying attention to this story.
I understand your frustration, but I think this logic is easily exploited. Part of democracy is keeping our elected officials in check. If we mentally check out whenever they put on a circus show, we’re rewarding bad behavior.
I see it more as by paying attention to the circus you’re rewarding bad behavior (circus creation). Being immune to the histrionics makes it harder to be exploited.
It works the other way too. No amount of leftist outrage managed to bring Trump to heel. Checking out of the news cycle and only getting involved when it seems to be particularly relevant seems like the saner strategy, particularly as our time and cognitive resources are the most precious ones we have.
Why blow it all on generating outrage when it'll just get manipulated into a bottom third talking point?
This example is exactly why someone should ignore the news. This was pure partisan bickering and mud slinging. Not once during the whole episode were Kavanaugh's actual positions discussed. Just rumors, gossip, fighting and soundbites. No one came out ahead paying attention to this story.
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