Is Following Politics Good For Seniors?

How often do you read or watch TV about politics or what the government has been doing?
Do you follow it daily?
In the last 2 years since we had a house fire and I turned 80, I have drastically reduced my attention to government and politics. I felt the need to not waste my time on things that annoy me, and just follow things that pressed my happy button. For as long as I can remember it's been a known fact that the government is wasteful, run by idiots, increases my taxes, gives loads of money to foreign countries, and on and on. What have I done about it, other than voting someone out of office, I've done nothing. My wife on the other hand follows what's going on in the government and with politicians daily, and gets really upset daily. There's not a day that goes by where there not something in the political news to upset you if you let it. She gets annoyed when she starts telling me the latest political or government screw up " did you hear, or did you see, or did you read" I react by saying " I don't care". Maybe I should give her a deaf ear, be her relief valve just so she could get it out of her system. I just feel that getting upset over things you have no control over is not healthy.
I must admit that while surfing the web I may come across a headline that interests me, I may read it, but generally I try to keep that to a minimum.

 

I agree, I too will follow earth events, anything to do with nature. Many times I go on youtube and seek a video of decent and good people rescuing an animal, be it a dog, deer, moose, whatever that's stuck in lake ice, fence, I come away feeling uplifted. I want to take in some of the good stuff that's happening.

 

Ditto to everything said above. It's all background noise which I avoid since my participation in the process only lasts a few seconds when down the road, I actually vote.

 

I am aware that soon my presence will no longer be required for humans to F themselves up. I try not to get over involved anymore. My peace of mind is of my utmost importance.

 

I just want to make another statement. Just because I'm not willing to listen to the bs going on in the government or politics Does not mean I am unpatriotic, On the contrary. If it was up to me all elected politicians should uphold there oath of office to this country and the constitution. Any political leader trying to undermine the foundation of this country should be charged with treason. Furthermore all elected and non elected government workers should take an oath to this country.
Is it patriotic to protest? Yes it is, if it's peaceful and doesn't have a hidden agenda to destroy America. Differences in opinion is healthy.

 

It would be nice if you could ignore the government for the most part, but you must be aware of what your enemy is doing. I just heard on the radio that a number of states have passed resolutions to do away with the Electoral College. Should that happen, we no longer have a republic. The nation will be in the same condition that states like California, Oregon, Washington, New York, and Illinois are in.

 

I agree, you cannot escape fully from the important news, However if the people who have the power to stop this kind of nonsense can't do it, It just makes me feel
Useless.
If all these groups And people in government that are trying to change
our Republic to communism would just move to a Communist country, if they like it so much, I'm okay with that.Go live in russia or china. That's not what this is about They're making change For power and wealth, To do that they have to keep us under their thumb.

 

Probably some combination of the two possibilities you mentioned would be used. The so-called Elites want to bend the country to their needs and wishes, but they want to get as much profit out of it that can be done before it occurs. To do this, they will have to change the electoral process, which is underway now, and they will have to get arms out of our hands, for, while we cannot confront an organized army with small arms very easily, it will be increasingly difficult to control the masses if they have options which are not in the government's interest. See the partisan battles that followed WWII and what happened in the recent "skirmishes" we have been in--Iraq, Afghanistan and other smaller conflicts.

Moving to another country that already has the form of government they seek won't do for them, for, as in California and other places, the residents really don't like living with the government they seek. Just like a woman or man who marries someone thinking they can change them, these people think they can make the government conversion but it will be different in the end if they have control. In neither case does it work out well.

 

Reminiscent of Hillary and her screaming, “but I won the popular vote !”

The top contenders for power mostly represent those cities that have a heavy population to draw a popular vote from hence their reasoning for wanting to get rid of the Electoral College.
To be sure, the 3 people who populate Warm River, Idaho have just as much of a right to have their choice in government as someone in New York, City does but that’s not something that even enters the minds of the power hungry who are seeking the cat bird seat.

If someone truly cares about the total population of the United States then they want the entire U.S. represented in the voting process.
But, for many, money and power are the dictators of conscience so for those, however they get into office makes little or no difference just as long as they obtain the position.
If it takes a civil war to gain what they want, then it is a war they will insist upon no matter the price that has to be paid for such a thing.
When a civil uprising was in the wind, was it not Joe Biden who alluded to a civil war when he said, we have jets and we have tanks?

 

What's happening now is a stress test of our constitution and the principles set forth by our founding fathers. Unfortunately, the process of righting the ship and it is painfully slow. The ultimate arbiter is the Supreme Court, and with a conservative majority, many being Trump appointees, there is hope.

 

That's interesting that you bring up Civil War because I see a conflict that if the president who has the power to direct the military against what he considers enemies of the country, he better be on the right side of the war as far as the Constitution goes.
I'm trying to say is while he has the authority to control the military and the military swore an oath to obey his orders, they also swore an oath to support and defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.

I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed ...

 

One of the problems with the voting public is that too many people are concerned about what affects them personally. Too few care about the country and its future. It's easy for politicians to promise to fix minor problems and then use their position to further their own agenda.

 

Yup, I remember the oath I took word for word and no, to be quite cliche’, there is no expiration date albeit the supposition is that the officers above me and the President also honor their oath as well.
There is no fault found for the person(s) who disobeys an order that is considered to be dishonorable