The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life

[poliphilo]

I made a resolution yesterday: I'm going to stop taking a day to day, close-up interest in politics. What good has it ever done me or anybody else? It's a bad habit and merely stirs up negativity.

As it happens I dreamed about Gordon Brown last night. He was presiding over a school dance. I guess my subconscious had clocked a resemblance between him and "Ted" Maidment- popular history teacher of my youth- and  was using it to seal the pact. Discipline at school dances was pretty strict- no snogging, no hanky-panky- but Ted was permissive and looked the other way when I sloped off to the curtained cubicle with my partner. Good bloke. In the dream I felt about Gordon the way I felt about Ted. 

And now I'm off to vote against him in the local elections.

Comments

[jenny_evergreen]

I applaud the decision; I made the same myself many years ago. Every so often, I slip and get caught up in it again, but I inevitably start feeling miserable, realize why, and get back out of it again.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Political news is almost always dispiriting. I rage inwardly about corruption and incompetence and the only person I'm hurting is myself.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

New full stop tends to be dispiriting.

A few years ago I stopped listening to the news and current affairs (even worse, all that pointless speculation!) on the car radio. I now treat it like alcohol: only partake sparingly and never alone. :)

It did help a while ago when it dawned on me that all headlines are written with the intention of making the reader think, "How awful!" I've been able to take them more calmly since that revelation.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Some media are worse than others. There are certain newspapers that set out not merely to make us feel bad but actively to stir up prejudice and anger.