March 6, 2018

Bad news fatigue

Honestly, I don't know how the Left do it - the constant barrage of spin and phony stories and attacks on conservatives and the president never lets up.  I have some suspicion as to how they manage it, and certainly as to why.  There are so many liberals in key media points (be it television or print, or social media) and the education system and in government that they can disperse the workload among millions of operatives so it's not like the right who have to rely on a few bastions who deserve our thanks for relentlessly standing up to it.  And of course the 'why' is simple - the Left cannot win on facts, so they rely on cacophony and volume rather than content in their messaging.

As a conservative blogger there are times I feel burnt out.  There are times I feel like everything I do doesn't matter at all.  Mind you, I can't let it stop me from trying.  That's what the Left wants.  It's exactly what those who control the megaphones - the social media platforms etc. - want. But despite my unwillingness (along with countless other small time bloggers) to knuckle under, the sheer volume of Leftist propaganda that oozes forth daily does from time to time result in bad news fatigue.  For example even Drudge today headlines this link, and this one.  

Either that's bad news fatigue setting in on conservative outposts like Drudge and Fox or else it's a reaction to the Left shouting from the rooftops that it's over for Republican's in 2018 (i.e. it's an attempt to scare the conservative base into turning out).  If it's the latter, I understand.  The Left believe in the fierce urgency of now.  The right do not hold that as a universal truth; we must win now, we must win next time, and we must win the time after that.  But even if that's the reason behind the messaging coming from the right, there are potential unintended consequences such as those on the right finally giving up.  It's always a risk; instead of the "We're going to crush the midterms so why do I need to show up?" mentality they might be fostering a "the situation is hopeless so why should I bother showing up" mentality.  Complacency or despair are our two choices?  How about a "this is going to be close and my voice matters" mentality as a third option?

Digging down into that Fox News story above about Democratic turnout in Texas, it's just the 15 biggest counties.  What about the rest of them?  What if it's a bunch of youth who are highly unlikely to turn out to vote in the midterms?  If this makes the Texas map more blue than before, that's a problem, but does anyone expect a massive Texas blowout for Democrats?  Really?

On the right we cannot be like the Left, we have to be honest with ourselves about the situation, and we have to find ways to strike a balance between bad news and good news and to keep ourselves engaged.  Bad news fatigue is not the answer; we expect that from the Left trying to discourage conservative voters - we don't need the surface level the sky is falling views from sources on the right as well.  Just saying.

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