How much do current affairs affect you?

I agree with so much of this. I miss the old feeling on this board I feel that the handful of people that post raging angry posts refuse to see that they are actually pushing people away instead of getting them on board. And I'm tired of people ganging up and beating up on anyone that doesn't agree with them. 

I live in a liberal state and surprisingly find FB is better than here to discuss politics. And we used to be a pretty tight community so it makes me sad. So many people have left or don't post any more. And many of them were middle of the road thinkers that were willing to see both sides, if they were treated with respect. 

Some days more than others. Syria is weighing heavily on me right now. But I also know we have big problems to solve at home. As a public school teacher, I have an ongoing fear not only for my livelihood by also for a system that I believe is good and necessary (if flawed). The kids we serve here need us. I don't think our government gets that, and it bothers me greatly.

I didn't run either, but tried to follow closely. That is great that you want to have a town meeting! We had a several debates/candidate forums. And they were videotaped so if you couldn't attend in person, you could watch on YouTube.
Save

5-10 political posts a day is not so bad when compared to the day I looked during the period I stopped participating and there were  54 new political posts in one day. 

They really don't. For the most part I will just have a momentary "That sucks" "Oh, cool" or "How sad" reaction to news. I tend to focus on doing the best I can in my own life and in my own part of the world rather than on what's happening in the bigger picture.

My daughter is in the Navy, and I work in the sciences. Current affairs keep me up at night.

Wow your Facebook is very different than mine. There are two distinct camps of posters on mine and both side beat their same old drums -- and they run anyone with a different opinion off the road. I don't discuss politics on FB at all. 

I will watch local news about it and usually Nightly News... and maybe a bit of the Today show.  That is about as far as I can take.  I can't see the point of watching news report after news report (CNN, FOX, MSN shows).. It just makes people mad and basically I think to a degree they all just spin it the way they want it and why bother.  I keep up with it but I don't have any passion for it.  And for starters some of it goes over my head.  I know enough to know what is happening and that is it.  For the most part it doesn't affect my day to day living.  (Sure some stuff will affect it somehow, taxes, insurance, military action for my son).  So why get all pissy about it and worry about it?  I know some people do and that is fine.  But I would rather live my life around my family and my friends and worry more about my immediate needs. (That said, I do feel bad for the people of Syria (or whatever crisis is at hand) and support the actions of our government/President has taken)

They affect me quite a bit for various reasons.

As a human being who enjoys clean air and water, the attacks on the EPA affect me.
As a teacher, the attacks on public education and the appointment of a completely unqualified donor to the post of Secretary of Education affect me.
As a teacher in a low-SES school, the thought that wars may be started that will disproportionately affect my former students affects me.
As a teacher in a school that has many immigrant students (some here legally, some not), the push to deport affects me.
As a parent of two children with disabilities, cuts to programs that help them affect me.
As a parent of two children who have pre-existing conditions, any changes to insurance requirements would affect me.
As an educated person who values critical thinking and the scientific method, the attacks on science and truth affect me.
As a human being who knows and cares about many who are LGBTQ, the attacks on their rights affect me.
As a student of history, the readiness of my fellow Americans to pin the blame for all ills upon minority groups affects me.
As a woman, the willingness of the "party of family values" to overlook sexual assault and unsavory behavior affects me.
As a voter, the gleeful gerrymandering of voting districts and disenfranchisement of poor, elderly, or minority American voters affects me.
As a wife of an immigrant who has an accent, the round-ups of immigrants who may or may not be here legally affect me.
As a person who uses the Internet and has a certain expectation of privacy, the ability for ISPs to sell my data to third parties affects me.
As an American who values the first amendment (as well as all of the others), the attempts to silence or intimidate those who speak out against the government affects me.
As an American, the reluctance of congress to get to the bottom of whether or not the president or his campaign allied with the Russians affects me.
As a taxpayer, the fact that my money is being used to line the pockets of the president and his family rather than to benefit the citizens of the country affects me.
As an inhabitant of the planet, the willful blindness to global climate change in favor of economic gains affects me.
As a person who likes to travel overseas from time to time, the gutting of the state department and the tarnishing of America's image broad affects me.

Yeah, I'm affected quite a bit by current events.

Almost all of the things that pyccku mentioned are reasons why I am concerned and affected by current events.

More specifically and personally:
I have taught for thirty-nine years, with my salary paid by the Federal Title I program, part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act - the one the Republicans in the House want to eliminate. That would certainly affect me and all the students I work with every day.

As a public school teacher I am very worried about the possible destruction of public education in this country. There are problems to be fixed, but public education is still the universal way to educate every student, something the future success of our country depends upon.

My brother has an autoimmune disease that has made him a kidney dialysis patient, on disability because of it. Changes to Medicare programs could affect him.

My sister gets her health insurance through the ACA Exchange. She has pre-existing vision issues that put her at high risk for blindness.

My husband has just begun treatment for cancer, a kind that is very hard to beat. He is on my health insurance now and I don't feel I can retire until he reaches Medicare eligibility (three more years, and I desperately hope he does reach that age), even though I am actually past the point when I could have retired. And who knows what changes could be in store for Medicare, or the health insurance for retired teachers that I can purchase in my state (reasonable cost for the retired teacher; very expensive to add a spouse), or coverage for pre-existing conditions under any plans? It's very difficult to feel secure in the choices you make, knowing that the rug could be pulled out from under you at any point.

I have friends who are gay, a relative married to an immigrant, students who are immigrants, students who are low income and need social service supports.

Locally, we just elected new mayors in several cities and towns, new aldermen, new community college board members, and new school board members where I live and work. The decisions those people make affect my taxes and my life.

At the state level we have a horrible mess, with a governor and a legislature that cannot work together, no budget for almost two years, and social services and programs being cut because the state is way behind in paying bills. These things affect me, my family and friends, my community, and my students and their families.

I've always been kind of a political junkie and read and watch a great deal of news and commentary. My second major in college was history so I have an interest on that level too.

I think the biggest thing I took away from this recent election cycle was to see just how many people are only concerned with themselves and their lives. I can't ignore the bigger pictures of the environment, the country and world's economic situation in general, foreign relations, etc. The US doesn't exist in a vacuum, and neither does my family. If I only speak up and work for things that affect me personally, I might be looking out for my best interests, but ignoring what's good for the collective "we." And I do think that "we" should all be in this together, that "we" are better and stronger and more prosperous when we work to improve things for everyone.

No, I don't assume you know her, just that you said the same thing right after she said it to me.  Which, I found interesting given that I put a number of peas on ignore in the middle of February and haven't been involved in the political back and forth arguing since then. Katelyn, who rarely posts here, pops in to my Climate Change thread to accuse me of letting politics consume me to the point of not enjoying life and you happen to imply the same thing and then start this thread, all within a short period of time.

If you, or Katelyn, actually check my post history, the majority of my posts are about non-political things, like Instant Pot recipes and Weight Watchers.

I felt that they were fairly bitchy assumptions on Katelyn and your part that issues with my mood are solely because of politics and that, even if my concern about our current political disaster did affect my mood here, that there is something psychologically wrong with that. And even more so to start a thread to poke me about it just after posting about it to me in a thread.

So, I am curious, given that many peas expressed that current political issues do affect them on a daily basis (it isn't just me by a long shot), what is your thought about it now?

Thank you for posting what you did. As I was reading I was thinking I was the only one who unplugged. I am a recoverde news junkie who gave up last June when all the Florida shootings occured. I never watch tv news EVER. I avoid all news outlets and know if I need to know something that is large enough that I will hear about it. This political season was one of my calmest ever. I also DVR any tv I watch so I missed all political ads haha. I frequently refer to myself as having my head in the sand and I too, am perfectly comfortable with that. My friends on our private FB page avoid posting anything newsy out of respect for me. I have the best friends:)!                                                                                                                                                 I could have written your post word for word. I have replaced news with music and more music and music trivia and I am happy. When I catch word of events like Syria my entire demeanor changes. Life is too short to live that tense.