There is something I have to say, Thanks for DU. I am

[doc03]

72 alone, living in a red state hell. DU is like an island where I can go and talk to other people
in the sane world. Just like this morning I wake up and turn on the TV, what are they doing talking about the USPS
I get it it is bad but isn't there something else in the world to talk about 24/7 for christ-sake. The f----g media picks up
on one subject and that is all they talk about for weeks on end. Then I go out to the carryout and get a coffee, what do I see
a damn 8'x4' Trump Pence sign in someone's yard and couple Trump flags on other houses. I avoid talking to people because
someone has to bring up politics and I am the lone Democrat. Back when GWB was president I read a lot of wild accusations
about him that I took with a grain of salt. But in today's world I read stuff on DU you would think was just crazy conspiracy stuff and it is actually backed up by the news media and usually some tweet from the f----g mental case in the Whitehorse. In the past I would get in the car and go someplace else for a few days just to escape the insanity, now we can't even do that. So coming to DU and being able to get out in nature for a couple hours bicycle ride is the only thing keeps me going. This is what it feels like sometimes.

[Freedomofspeech]

1. I hear ya...

[snowybirdie]

2. You're

not alone! Living where we do, you'd think tRump will win in a landslide. Helps a lot to find folks with a different outlook.

[SheltieLover]

3. Yup

This is like sanity island amid all the delusional nut jobs supporting the destruction of our country.

[hlthe2b]

4. I slept fitfully last night and just finally woke up. Seeing your post first was a nice "awakening"

And, yeah, I'm ok getting the latest bad news on DU (with context and discussion) but too much MSNBC & CNN is having me turning off the tv to stream old Golden Girls or Frasier reruns to keep me sane.

But, DU is just a better way to hear the latest in a like-minded cyber community. I can imagine how important it is for those in RED states/locales.

[doc03]

5. I can't handle watching MSNBC and CNN any more than a few minutes, it is just the

same thing repeated endlessly 24/7. So like you I believe I have seen every episode of Gunsmoke and other old shows ever made along with binge watching shows on Netflix. It has been like this ever since Trump stole the election but now with COVID it is like you are locked in a cage and can't get out.

[peacebuzzard]

6. I am single & in the same scenario

deep red. the repug. senator runs as "endorsed by Dump"
its painful to even try a dialogue with anyone for the most part.

You are not alone.

[KentuckyWoman]

7. Me too

Not much older than you and now also alone. Although for me, after a long stretch of exhausting caretaking, the alone is a balm. However, I can't imagine what it would be without internet and DU in particular.

With the exception of some reliable websites I decided in April to take a hiatus from news. Was a good decision. I don't tweet. I don't need the daily outrage to understand what's what. DU allows me to run though the subject lines and get a feel for what I should go looking for to keep up to date on the evolving crazy that is America right now. I can spout off when I need to and find friends.

Bike rides are mighty good as well. I've had to move up to a tricycle as I took a could tumbles, but I'm fortunate almost everywhere near me has double wide sidewalks.

[LAS14]

8. All my sympathies!!! Glad you found DU!!!!! nt

[vlyons]

9. Hang in there

I recommend that you practice meditation if you don't already do it. There is nothing more important than for each of us to maintain our sanity and peace of mind. A simple 15 minute meditation session, in which you relax your mind, watch your breathing, and label all thoughts as "just thinking" will do wonders.

When Buddha became enlightened, he gave his first talk on the 4 true facts of life, known as the "4 Noble Truths." The first of which is the truth of suffering. I frequently forget that I live in Samsara, the realm of suffering. But then life taps me on the shoulder and reminds me that I am still in Samsara, suffering.

There is not much we can do about what other people think or how they behave. No amount of angry words from us will ever make other people fit our pictures. But there is everything that we can do to change what we think and how we behave. That's where meditation comes in. We can stop generating negative emotions of fear, anger, hatred, etc., and instead cultivate thoughts of loving kindness, self-discipline, patience, and peace. Even if we can't quite conjure up thoughts of patience and peace, we can still aspire everyday to create patience and peace.

[doc03]

10. My meditation is on my bicycle. I get out in nature with deer,

groundhogs and other critters. I can block Trump out for a while.

[Illumination]

14. Thank you for your post vlyons! Meditation is very important for our mental health (& prayer)!

[jmbar2]

21. Thanks for your addition to this very good post

Meditation has taught me that most of the news is like those little clouds of thought that pass through your mind while sitting. We don't have to engage. Just watch them pass by and return to our breath.

DU is my first stop in the morning to see if anything really big has happened that I need to pay attention to. The post office story tells me to drop my ballots directly into the ballot box. I'll leave it up to the next administration to patch up the gaps that allowed the far right ants to find themselves in.

My job is to vote in the right people to clean up the mess. But I don't have to do it myself. It is beyond my control.

Thankfully, we have a great administration coming in with the knowledge and ethical fortitude to clean house.

[c-rational]

26. Wonderful suggestion to meditate. For the beginner, I was taught the Exercise...sit upright

balanced and comfortable and then focus on the weight of your body/feet; welcome light shadow, form and color; taste; smell; breath; and sound - open the listening to receive all sounds without comment or judgment. A 5 minute exercise that is a great way to bring yourself into the present moment...the only place a human being can be happy.

[vlyons]

27. Anyone can meditate

You don't have to be a Buddhist. You can be a Catholic, a Lutheran, a Baptist, a whatever, and you don't need any special equipment. It's also important to include the aspiration for WHY you practice meditation. It's really about training our mind not to cultivate negativities, and rather cultivate more enlightened points of view. One of my personal aspirations is to stay calm, no matter what comes my way. So far I have survived an earthquake, 3 hurricanes, 1 tornado that destroyed my house, heart disease, and breast cancer. So I know a thing or 2 about staying calm. We are much more effective at solving problems when we stay calm, than if we freak out with anger and despair.

The Dalai Lama has a wonderful little book "How to Practice." It's not Buddhist-specific, but it is very clear and easy to understand. You can get a good used copy for a few bucks.

[Illumination]

11. Also single doc03. Now our "escape" is our home & DU! Last year I spent lots of time traveling

around the US by plane, train, ferry, car & bus! Must have know something...Times sure have changed for the majority of us!

[Desert_Leslie]

12. We are With You

So, so many of us are in the same boat! DU has been a real savior in the past four years, especially for those of us in "red zones."

Keeping quiet has been really tough. I have a brother-in-law who said Middle Easterners were "sand ni__ers" at a family dinner a couple years back ... so we quit having family dinners ... something I really enjoyed doing ... so we didn't have to un-invite just him. Sad.

Why is it that GOP/Trumpers feel they can just blithely start talking politics at any occasion, even when it isn't brought up by anyone else? My husband's best friend's wife STILL believes in Trump [she was a Breitbart consumer at one time, for what it's worth]. This month she sent a pro-Trump video to me on Facebook extolling Trump's big accomplishments, like getting NAFTA done [OMG are they kidding?] I ignored it and didn't reply. If she knew what I thought of the "orange stain," she'd probably faint.

I don't inflict MY views on them ... why bother? People have to come to it themselves. It's better that way.

I read that the day Tricky Dick Nixon resigned, he had a 57% positive rating from the American public. Now he is spoken of with disdain by most people ... leaving aside "Nixon Tattoo Clown" Roger Stone.

Our day is coming. My undying gratitude goes to the free press.

[vlyons]

18. I entertain the possibility of a renaissance of basic decency post-Trump

I think most Americans YEARN to live in a society of ethical morality and basic decency, in which our biggest political disagreements are about whether to spend tax payer money on a new ball park or expanding an airport. Most people everywhere are decent good people, who cringe at the character assassinations, corruption, and indifference of our current administration.

I'm really looking forward to Dr Jill Biden as First Lady setting a tone of graciousness, and the Biden-Harris team leading us to solve problems that our country faces. We can do this.

[blm]

13. ((doc))

[CaptainTruth]

15. I know how you feel. We're here for you & WE WILL WIN THIS!!!

[jaxexpat]

16. All my neighbors are Retrumplicans too.

I think most are a little sheepish about the orange thing. But I know they recharge themselves on Fox in order to maintain. For 17 years we have NEVER discussed politics.

The guy next door moved last weekend. As he was packing his stuff he stopped to tell me he was sad to leave the good neighbors. It's true, we all watch out for each other like humans are supposed to. He said he'd already sold his place to some good friends but he wanted to tell me ahead of time, "they're real good people but they're Democrats". Manic laughter rose up into my mind, you just can't make some stuff up. I'm known locally for dry wit so I choked it down and chided him for allowing the neighborhood to become so irresponsibly infected. Haven't met the new people yet but I won't ever bring up politics with them.

These are not the "good old days". These are the days when wisdom is silence if you live in red state society.
The worm will most likely turn this fall. I have the luxury of many days of early voting.

[Ligyron]

17. Well. if anyone feels they need a boyfriend, I'm available, lol.

66, not rich but not quite broke and treading water pretty well so far.

Cannot wait to see this outright criminal frog marched out of the WH he thinks he can remain in elections be damned.

I await with guilty glee the prosecution of his orangeness and his grifting family.

[AllaN01Bear]

19. i am too in a red district. drives me crazy, i go twice a week up to the cemetary where mum

is inteered and walk around for a bit. i enjoy the birds , the wild turkies and their rafters . (that is what a turkey herd is called )

[PatSeg]

20. Oh yes

I can't count how many times I've cited Invasion of the Body Snatchers in the past few years, especially when you see friends and relatives succumb to the insanity. I can handle different points of view, but if the opposing view totally lacks any logic, reason, or evidence, it is frightening. Its like being surrounded by mindless pod people.

[ooky]

22. DU is my confirmation there are still sane people

left in this country.

[mountain grammy]

23. Also 72 here in the beautiful Rocky Mountains

Trumpland.. 25 years with some of the dumbest people I've ever met. ..I'm grateful for my husband and 4 good friends and always DU. I'll soon be surrounded by trump flags, but my Biden/Harris flag is on the way. I'll be ridiculed like when I put up a Clinton/Kaine sign, but I have no fucks left to give..Colorado is mostly blue, and went for Hillary. Biden signs all over Denver, but the small towns are trumpland because, well, they're stupid, and by stupid I mean racist.. It's not that they hate black people, they just think if a person isn't successful it's because they're not working hard. This from people who inherited wealth.. Total denial of American history .

[Joinfortmill]

24. I hear you. Stay safe.

[UserNotFound]

25. In my very short time here,

I can see that DU could be a nice refuge from all the worldly insanity we are suffering. Hang in there, Doc, you are among friends here!

[ismnotwasm]

28. Sometimes I get stuck in a patients room, and Fox News is on.

And I think, “what if I had to deal with this all the time”? I get almost nauseated litstrning to Fox, and I can talk about a gnarly wound change while eating lunch without thinking about it.

I’m glad you find refuge here.

[LiberalLoner]

29. Sending hugs

[Maeve]

30. Hang in there--change is coming