Behind the Blogger: Political Overload Leads to Apathy

Wow, this is what you don't want to happen. I'm so sick and tired of every Donald Trump utterance being at the top of the news, I'm starting to tune out. The media clearly loves having Trump around, and is currently employing double standards aplenty for him.

For instance, Hillary Clinton--still the Democratic front-runner, though not the only Democratic candidate--is rarely talked about in anything but negative stories, even if there is no new news. Her negative polls are up! Even though she's still beating every one she's matched up against. Even though her standings in any polls that matter have barely budged. Even though we're well more than a year out from the election. She compared GOP candidates to terrorists! She needs to apologize! Even though she really didn't, and even though Trump says several worse things each and every day and never has to apologize.

I've detested this man since the EIGHTIES. It would be easy
to blame my blogging apathy on him! Image from Huffington Post.

For instance, Bernie Sanders. . .crickets. He's packing stadiums and auditoriums, has enthusiastic supporters, actual policy positions and details, and is every bit as unfiltered as Trump. Almost no coverage, other than as a curiosity.

But, Joe Biden might run! Curtains for Clinton! What? Biden has run twice before without making much of a ripple. He's even older than Bernie, Hillary or Trump, and his positions are virtually identical to Hillary's. And good grief, on the GOP side, SEVENTEEN major candidates are running! So what if Biden runs? Run, Joe, run, if that's what you want to do. Though, truth be told, I'd rather see him end his career on a high note, than with an ugly campaign.

And outside of presidential politics (and yes, other things are actually going on out there), we have a wildly see-sawing stock market, with impossibly skittish, cowardly investors freaking out over their own shadows. Tell me that between 3:00 pm on an odd Tuesday things are looking rosy, then by 4:00 pm the world is coming to an end, and then the next morning, rally! I mean what the actual fuck, you guys?

People being shot on live television, and the shooter turns out to be both black and gay, which is confusing (and rare). Liberals want to bring up gun control, conservatives finger-wag that it's "too soon," and it's "politicizing a tragedy." And yet, they're simultaneously politicizing the tragedy by whining about the prospect of gun control, and--bizarrely--trying to equate the rainbow flag with the Confederate flag. Attention conservatives: you do not understand humor, sarcasm, irony nor analogies.

Closed caption is wrong! It's "meh." M-E-H.

So, clearly, there is no shortage of things to write about. So why is the blog languishing with nary an update for days at a stretch? Well, beyond burnout, change of life circumstances, change of residence and environment, and more, I'm just feeling apathetic about it. Yes, I've been horrible at updating the blog all year pretty much, but I'm blaming the Dog Days of August. Life is feeling that way, or rather, my online life is. Actual life is going pretty well.

I'm trying to plug back in, at least better than I have been, but it's a toughie. It's like rolling that rock uphill sometimes. I also find myself participating in smaller, nugget-sized ways via Twitter, Facebook comments sections and other social media. I'm going to have to curb that a bit if I want to get back to something resembling a daily blog again. So, I'll try. As I said before, it's not like I don't have the time these days, being on semi-sabbatical. I just need the oomph, the zazz. The blog's not going anywhere, I just am having difficulty with putting new stuff on it!

Stay tuned.