Political Burnout

I love politics. Shocking, I know, but it's true. It's probably my chief interest in life, aside from trying to make Brazen Hussy happy. But I have to admit that I tend to have a bit of an obsessive personality, which applies to politics as much as anything else. I didn't slow down much after the last campaign. Locally, I went directly from working on a campaign to consulting with the City Council. Nationally, I've paid excruciatingly close attention to every jot and tittle of Obama administration.

Yesterday I was having lunch with a friend who was regaling me with political stories, and I suddenly realized - I just didn't care very much. I wasn't feeling it in my gut the way I usually do. Perhaps my frustrations in both instances (local and national) are the cause of my recent disenchantment, or maybe I just need some time off. But whatever the source, I need to create some distance between myself and Politicalworld. I have a lot I'm tackling right now - writing a book of fiction, academic articles, politics, exercising, my job, and my life at home (not in that order) - and I feel that something has to give. So to my surprise, I think - for the time being at least - it has to be politics.

So for a time I'm not going to read the newspapers or the blogs. I'm not going to worry about what Democrats or Republicans are up to. I'm not going to go to local political events. I'm going to just stop. For a while, anyway.

This doesn't mean I intend to give up blogging, just that the focus will likely change a bit. And it's perfectly probable that in 3 weeks I'll be back to normal. Right now, though, I'm just tired.