As Americans prepare to hit the polls in November, more than half say they are following news about the 2024 presidential election very or fairly closely. However, many adults report feeling worn out by the extensive coverage, and two-thirds say they are concerned “extremists” will commit acts of violence following the election.
Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette examines his own emotions and outlines a strategy for processing them as Americans head into one of the most chaotic election cycles in its history.
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The following is an excerpt from the above video:
Sometimes I’m doing so much. Juggling so many jobs, managing so many tasks, and working on so many different projects at once, that I feel the need to take a minute and sit down and make two lists. I make a list of everything I’m doing and also make a list of all the things that I intend to do or need to do or should be doing. I just need to see it all written down so I can organize it in my mind.
Now, in a totally different vein, I think I need to sit down and write out two more lists — not for me, but for America. On the first list, I would jot down, like a scene from the movie “Inside Out” — all the emotions that I’m feeling these days and that I’ve been feeling for the last few years, in fact. Why? Because I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one feeling these things.
Wait, on second thought, let me think about that. Admittedly, I’m in the news business, and so I have to consume an unhealthy amount of media every single day. Even at a time when, according to surveys, much of the American people are dialed into politics and current events, my level of entrenchment is, like most national journalists, next level. And as I said, not very healthy.
