An invitation to turn the news back on … only 86 days left

By Mary Kay Roth

Cicadas are thrumming on this cool August evening as dusk settles over my flower patch of Black-eyed Susans and the rhythm of summer starts to turn, ever so gently. Nightfall is just starting to overpower the pink mist of sunset, the sounds of a few persistent air conditioners blend with the last whisper of twilight birdsong, and I know the first star is up there, somewhere. 

Outdoors has always been my escape from the madness of this crazy world, a place of peace, my way of calming the roar of humanity.

But tonight’s respite will be brief.  Tomorrow I will return to the real world, rested and ready. I’ll tune into and turn on the news and – as of Saturday – count down 86 days to the November election.

I am not stepping away.  

Though many others have.

Over the last few years, I’ve heard so many people – some of my own dear friends and family – declare they are turning off and walking away from the news. Frustrated and stressed out, they say they simply cannot watch or read another dismal news story. They believe they have no voice, cannot make a difference anymore. 

In fact, when you Google “turn off the news,” you’ll find promises of health, wealth, serenity and nirvana.  Ohhhhmmmmm … 

The Pew Research Center reports that 51 percent of adults in the U.S. said they followed the news all or most of the time in 2016 – but that had fallen dramatically to 38 percent in 2022 (the last time they counted). 

Worrisome numbers.

So, I’m writing this blog to extend an official invitation – for you to come back. 

“The salvation of the state is watchfulness in the citizen"  – those are the words etched on the main entrance to the Nebraska State Capitol.  And it’s darned near impossible to be watchful when you don’t know what’s going on.

Eighty-six days from Saturday, among many ballot choices, voters will likely:

• Elect the person who will lead our country for the next four years.
• Choose representatives for Congress and our State Legislature.
• Decide whether women in Nebraska have control over their own bodies.
• Determine if this state will drain our public dollars by funding private schools.

That we need a free press for a working democracy is a belief as old as our own democracy – considering the founding fathers included freedom of the press in the very First Amendment of our Constitution.  

Citizens of our country are charged with making informed decisions about whom to vote for and what policies to support.  But without news and information voters operate in a vacuum of ignorance that impacts everything from critical thinking to civic engagement.  

Margaret Sullivan, author of “Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy,” writes: “News provides us with in-depth analysis and context about current events, which helps us understand the world better … brings to light important issues and provides us with multiple perspectives on the same event. This helps us gain a more nuanced understanding of the world and enables us to form our own opinions on important issues.”

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not urging you to immerse yourself in news – 24/7. 

I get it. These days the lens of news and politics often seems toxic, confusing and confounding. That’s when stepping away is a good thing.  Time to …. read a book, watch movies, work in the garden, catch a ballgame, pet your pet, bike trails, dance the tango – listen to cicadas. 

I’m only suggesting that you don’t step away completely. Come back, find reputable news outlets and participate in this precious democracy.

Our country needs each and every one of us right now to:

• Pay attention to what’s going on in our community, our state, our country, our world.
• Take a stand, put up signs, write postcards, make phone calls, speak up and speak out.
• Vote.

Heather Cox Richardson, a wise historian, tells us: “And this is our time to stand up and be counted. It's scary and sometimes it's boring, and sometimes you wish you could go to sleep earlier, but nobody who gets stuck in a moment like this says, ‘Hey, this is great, I get to be miserable in this process.’ What they do get to say is, ‘I did the right thing when it really mattered and at the end of the day, that's really what it means to be a human being.’”

So, on this lovely Friday evening, I plan to linger outdoors for a good long while and get lost in the starlight.

Come tomorrow morning, however, I’ll have my cup of coffee and sit back to read the news.  

Because summer will soon turn to autumn. We have 86 days until the November election.

Please don’t step away.  

Instead, consider the honor and privilege we have in our country – to step up.