Drama Free Zone

Early voting starts on Wednesday October 11th and it seems like there is no campaign going on. If you are reading this you might be longing for some political coverage of the election, but there really isn't anything to report.

If you want drama, then you want entertainment.  Political Journalism is about entertainment. There is so little good political journalism going on anywhere. One exception is a great article from Becca Costello at WVXU. Details, details, details is the core of what makes for good Political Journalism and that article has it from all sides.

I will avoid linking to the drama obsessed Enquirer.  I've recently tried to defend the Enquirer, as it is the most comprehensive local news source in the Cincinnati area. There political coverage is largely just entertainment for suburbanites.  We have a political journalist who is so transparently angered at the local Democratic Party for being successful. The passive aggressive angst seethes from Sharon Coolidge's articles.  She wants drama for her "news" article and she can't get Democrats on City Council to provide her with any.

We don't know much of what the candidates plan to do, but we know that unsuccessful left wing candidates can't understand why they are not welcome in the local Democratic Party after they burned every possible bridge they could over the last few elections.

I've been writing about local politics now for over 20 years and I am astonished at the apathy. Not only is the public apathetic, the local news media seems uninterested.

We'll have an election and stuff will happen.  There is actually some interesting variables to consider, but the discourse on politics today is just crap. The powerful tools available online are just garbage. You can't find any place to have a civil discussion on politics. I say that with a full acknowledgement that I myself have had many uncivil political arguments over the years. I believe I've tried to be honest and not rude.  I've been rude in response to others being rude or just out right bigots or racists. Stating the truth about bigots and racists is not rude, it is just honesty. Honesty is civility. 

I have made a strong effort to avoid the fools.  Blocking people who are repeatedly acting horribly on Social Media is not only a great choice, it is a quick one.  Don't feed the trolls, just block them.  The bots are always easy for people to block, but there are real people who are complete assholes online. I mean assholes.  There is no reason to engage with them, they only want your attention.  Life is short and people online who only detract from your life do not need to be part of it. 

Work to create a more Drama Free Zone in Cincinnati.  We need more effort to build a better local community.  I know how it could be done and so do most people, but we just don't seem to be able to connect in a world filled with easy ways to communicate. That conflictive puzzle will persist.