I do find politics depressing. And sometimes I stand back and read less of it. I have a spiritual faith and turn to dwell there more deeply to restore myself.
I also find it encouraging to look at those who stand up to the decaying world, against the odds.
When I feel most overwhelmed, I recall the photograph of Tienanmen Square and that one young man standing in front of the tank.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man
I marvel at the way he darted in front of it every time the tank tried to move past him.
The battle that Ezra Levine waged with the Human Rights Commission in Canada. The Swedish artist who stood up against extremists by publishing cartoons in the face of death threats. The firemen raising the flag over the remains of the Twin Towers. The list goes on. When I see others facing the enemy (foreign or political), I am hesitant to turn away in hopelessness myself. It’s as if I fear that those brave souls will have no one ‘watching their back’ for them, no one supporting their valorous deeds.
I really do believe I understand - it genuinely is overwhelming sometimes when it isn’t crushingly disappointing. I sometimes take a little break, then I turn back again.
Here’s a better link for the Tienanmen Tank man photograph.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tianasquare.jpg
