Be ignorant, sometimes
I've been trying not to learn about certain news stories lately. There's a lot of stuff I want to know, and a good bit of it actually matters (it will influence a decision I'll make or action I'll take). But so much just doesn't matter.
This change was largely inspired by Purposeful Ignorance by Curious Corner.
There is very likely no reporting that will change my vote to Trump. I don't need to know about dumb things he says or bad policies he has, and I'm not trying to convince anybody not to vote for him. I just don't need to know.
I don't care what the polls are saying about Harris either. If she's taking a meaningful stance against western imperialism or against capitalism, i might vote for her. Otherwise, it's Jill Stein. Polls won't change my mind; most news won't.
I really didn't need to know about the Springfield Ohio lie about immigrants. I've actively avoided clicking on reports about it. I know what the basic lie is, I trust that it is a lie, or at least it's overblown to a ridiculous degree. I don't care if I'm right or wrong. It won't change anything in my life or affect my vote.
Well. I watch Some More News on Wednesdays. I pick up deli food from kroger (potato salad and sushi today), chat with my friend at the deli counter, then eat in the parking lot outside my library. And I watch 20 or so minutes of SMN during these dinners.
Well he just HAD TO BE TALKING ABOUT IT. So I guess I know more about it now. Woohoo, I now know the fear-mongering liars told another fear-mongering lie. Woohoo.
It was entertaining though. Last week's episode was about the cybertruck (another thing I don't need to know about), but it was fun to basically just watch a guy talk shit for an hour lol.
So I'll probably keep consuming some of my petty "news" content and learn about some shit I don't need to know about. But I'm going to keep being ignorant about things outside of indulgent entertainment "news" wherein it doesn't actually matter.
Again, by matter, i mean: Learning about it will not change my decision or behavior.
And sometimes, I might be wrong. Sometimes, the seemingly unimportant headline might turn out to have some substance I care about. Who fucking cares man. It's okay if I'm wrong sometimes.
For the record: I do read books, and watch documentaries, and I do like to be meaningfully informed about issues. I just don't think a lot of the "news" is useful.