Posted on Sun, Sep. 21, 2008
Meghan Daum
is an essayist and novelist
in Los Angeles
Are you experiencing disturbing, election-related thoughts? When you close your eyes at night, do the colors of CNN's "magic" electoral map dance in your head like red and blue sugarplums? Are you getting carpal tunnel syndrome from hitting "refresh" at political Web sites and blogs? Are you at once totally sick of election news and insatiably hungry for more? As a result, are you sick of yourself?
Me, too, and I don't think we're alone. As much as we want to think and talk about subjects other than the election, we can't. As much as we know we should watch that Netflix movie we've had for months, we don't do it. And though we might hate ourselves in the morning, we can't resist the quick fix of a screaming Huffington Post headline or a Bill O'Reilly conniption fit.
You think I'm talking about campaign fatigue? Sadly, we're way beyond that. Campaign fatigue, with its implication that people have had their fill of election chatter and are turning their attention to more personally enriching matters, is so ... I don't know, 2004. Campaign fatigue was what people felt when John Kerry wouldn't shut up about "the mountains of Tora Bora." Campaign fatigue is what happened when "Swift boat" was no longer a Navy vessel but also a verb of mass destruction.
Not so this election, which has been so all-consuming that mere fatigue (which started appearing around the time Stevie Wonder performed "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" at Invesco Field) got quickly usurped by a more powerful blight: obsession.
With the introduction of Palin into the mix, cocktail parties didn't so much buzz as throb. Rumors ricocheted around the Internet at warp speed. TV pundits were so busy that they could barely get to the bathroom.
Now, obsession is escalating into addiction. And as often happens with addictions, the high is gone but the craving is worse. Lively political debate now seems like toxic chatter. Take it from me; I think I've poisoned myself.
A few weeks ago, I couldn't stop reading news articles and political blogs. Last week, I read not only the articles and the blogs, but also the endless reader comments that accompanied them, and then the comments about the comments. A few weeks ago, I listened to talk radio with detached amusement and turned it off at will. Last week, I got so exercised over a call-in show that I nearly crashed my car.
A few weeks ago, half of my conversations were about the election. Last week, it was closer to 90 percent. I don't think anyone involved in these conversations actually wanted to be having them. But we couldn't help ourselves. We're so addicted to the rush of this election, it probably won't be long until we're attempting to melt down Wolf Blitzer and shoot him into our veins.
I'm not suggesting that election addiction be added to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, nor do I mean to trivialize chemical dependence by comparing it with out-of-control blog reading. I am, however, worried.
I'm worried because, as with any addiction, we're starting to experience negative consequences. We're easily enraged and paranoid and so caught up in the carefully engineered paradigm of "us vs. them" that otherwise rational people actually believed that picture of Palin in a flag bikini was real. Worse yet, we're ignoring the things - friends, family, basic hygiene - we once held dear.
Although we tell ourselves that our mania is the best avenue to political and social change, a public that gorges on blog comments and abandons its hobbies in favor of nonstop CNN viewing will lose no matter which candidate wins.
That's why I'm going to kick the habit tomorrow. Or maybe next week.
E-mail Meghan Daum at mdaum@latimescolumnists.com.
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