I hate to talk politics but for the first time in my life I am afraid to speak about it ore even say who I want to vote for. I once place a bumper sticker on my car but would not dare to do that today for fear. I feel like this country is so divide and I just cannot understand why people cannot see the truth of what is happening to this great county that I love. We are more divide then ever and it makes no sense to me. I have not hatred towards anyone but so many are just looking for an excuse to get into arguments over stupid issues. We all have a right to our opinions but we all should not let our opinions dictated the country.  I really hope this change soon as it is adding more stress then the dementia does.  

I hear you, Michael.  Ordinary discourse has gotten to be hostile.  Long ago I stopped watching the news, also late-night talk shows.  I require peace and quiet or I won 't be able to function-at all.

Iris L.

Michael, after more thought, I decided your concern deserves more of a response.  I believe many PWDs live in a state of free-flowing anxiety because their cognition doesn't allow them to put things together the way they used to, and they are constantly "lost."  Distractions from the outside world only tend to heighten the lost feeling.  I have said before that, IMHO, PWDs should live in a bubble, with limited contact with distractions and upsetting things.

I have had and still have anxiety.  I use my anxiety-relieving techniques to ameliorate the anxiety.  They do work for me.  I also work to keep upsetting things away from myself.

I know this is common because many PWDs and many care providers post about anxiety and fearfulness. 

I hope you can find some peace and relief too, Michael.

Iris

Thanks so much Iris,

The answer would be easy to stop listening to news but sadly I have always been a news junkie and always listened to it all the time. 

Michael, then the question becomes, which is more important to you, being a news junkie or living in a state of constant anxiety and fear? Only you can decide how much grief you are willing to tolerate in your own life.  I realized there is nothing I can do to change what's going on in the news, so why am I letting it take up so much space in my mind?  Are you getting persistent thoughts about the news?  This must stop, Michael!

If you can moderate, do so.  If you are greatly bothered, cut the news out completely.  Take a news siesta.  Fortunately, this is something you do have some control over.  It will be hard, like dealing with being a workaholic.  But you can do it.  Find a substitute activity.  Perhaps something to do with your hands that takes you away from the tv.  Also, think about listening to music instead of radio news and talk shows.  That's what I do.  Also, I am getting ready for another trip.  I'm going to Egypt.  The pyramids await!

Iris

I never been to Egypt. Have great time. I need to cut back on trips until I sell my boat and build my house. 

Why should you be banned from the board for stating an opinion?  Climate change is real, and we have been warming since the last ice age, drowning formerly habitable dry land areas like Doggerland.  The debate is how much human activity has accelerated the pace.  While California has droughts and wildfires, the Midwest just got a major snowstorm, the likes of which I have never seen this early in the season, and my memory goes back a long time.

California may have made the wildfire ptoblem worse by overuse of the natural water supply and poor brush management from budget cuts.  There is no such thing as unbiased news radio or TV anymore, and I have largely given up watching traditional media because of the shallow yet hyperbolic coverage.  I don't need an ulcer on top of anything else.

Yes, we have becomd so very divided politically that I hesitate to tell my own son about my radical shift to the center in the past few years.  He would think less of me, I'm sure.  I just saw through one media lie and it became a cascade effect.

I will echo Unforgiven's sentiments.  You are a valued member and you would not be banned for stating a well-informed opinion.  Overall, I think the moderators do a good job of balancing civility with our right to state our beliefs.  

The combination of global warming and PG&E powerline management has been a disatrous one for many communities in northern California.  The last few years have been unprecedented in a terrible way.  I like your statement that Mother Nature Bats Last.

No doubt that these are serious times however not our first as a country. I think I have learned the equivalent of one year in law school including a semester in the constitution...lol

I too have discovered family members and friends that I have less in common with than I thought.