I’ve been hearing from a lot of people that they are absolutely and utterly exhausted by politics. Are you? I know I am.

Over the past several years, I’ve been unable to go anywhere on social media without seeing people constantly screaming at each other about politics. So I completely stopped going on Facebook because it seemed especially bad there, with people’s political views overshadowing everything else. Sure, I could unfriend or block all the culprits, but there’d be practically nobody left in my feed if I did.

No matter what side of the political spectrum people are on, it seems they are outraged, appalled, and/or mortified by something and feel it’s okay to belittle or shout at others about it. They are in the right, and everyone else is wrong, and they ensure that everyone knows it. Insults flow like water.

Now, while it’s admirable and important to be a well-informed individual, I feel that being in a constant state of outrage cannot be good for the psyche. I certainly noticed the negative effect it had on mine.

So, I’ve pulled back a bit from the news and social media and find that I’m much more relaxed and much more productive since doing so. Being constantly outraged – especially about things over which we have no control — does take a toll on a person. I didn’t realize how much it did on me until I started pulling back. Yes, there are definitely awful injustices going on (and each political side will have a different view about what those injustices are) but being angry all the time about them does nobody any good. At least I feel that it didn’t for me. And screaming one’s political views at others, insulting people and belittling them has never changed anyone’s mind.

Who knows? Maybe it will lead me to leave social media altogether — and that probably wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Today is the beginning of my vacation. Initially, we’d planned on taking the scooters and traveling to Arkansas. It’s supposed to be beautiful country for motorcycling there, and I was looking forward to visiting the state. But then I noticed how the COVID numbers for Arkansas were going through the roof, and it didn’t take long for many other states to follow. I know many people had begun acting as if the pandemic was over and that it was “business as usual.” Here in Wisconsin, it’s not unusual to see bars crammed full of unmasked people.

So last week, we made the decision not to do any significant traveling this summer and instead stick close to home for our vacation. Given that I have a preexisting condition that led my physician to tell me, “Whatever you do, don’t get COVID,” I figured it would be best to err on the side of caution, especially in light of the fact that even fully vaccinated people are contracting the disease. So for the second summer in a row, vacation traveling plans are canceled.

Many people say that one of the best vacations you can do is to explore your own city, and that’s what we’ll be doing for the next two weeks (my spouse has two weeks of vacation — and given that I work from home and for myself, I can take time off any time I want). Many of our local parks have “music in the park” and “outdoor movies in the park” events, so we’ll be checking out some of them. We plan on also doing some touristy things like visiting the Harley-Davidson museum, attending local outdoor festivals, and even spending time at the beach — you know, all the touristy things that are available in your own city that you never get around to doing.

Perhaps we’re being overly cautious, but again, I feel better after having made this decision. I’ve noticed that even Wisconsin’s pandemic numbers have jumped, from about 10-20 new cases a day to over 200 the past few days, so there’s a definite new surge occurring. It may be time to go back to wearing masks indoors.

Photo by Chen Mizrach on Unsplash