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Lately I’ve been experiencing shortness of breath—a symptom of anxiety like one I had as a child. Our family doctor had an EKG run on me at the time to rule out any heart-related issues. The test results were negative, and no other physical reason was offered to account for my condition. Back in the 50s, the prevailing belief among health care professionals was that children were not subject to the kinds of emotional disturbances experienced by adults; their diagnosis became that my symptoms had been a product of my imagination. Despite that diagnosis, I came to realize, years later, that I had indeed been suffering from depression as a child, and that my shortness of breath had been a manifestation of that condition.

The past couple of days I’ve again been experiencing shortness of breath like that experienced in my childhood. My doctor checked me and didn’t seem concerned.  After briefly surveying the possible causes, I’ve concluded the likely suspect is the angst-producing tenor of the daily dribble of dreadful news emanating from the nation’s capital. Although the overall effect of this onslaught is mind-numbing in a broader sense, the spikes produced by certain travesty-trumping developments, now occurring with greater frequency, elevate my anxiety level beyond my now normal-seeming state of distress.

I further suspect my faithful devotion to following the developing drama on MSNBC may serve to exacerbate the already present tension enveloping this news. Even if you discount the sometimes hyperbolic-seeming statements voiced by its moderators, the interviews featured on the show’s programming –with scholars, historians and well-informed former congressional representatives the likes of Jon Meacham, Lawrence Tribe, Mike McFall and Claire McCaskill—still retain the ability to trigger my fight or flight response, with its attendant negative side effects on not only my physiology but also my emotional well-being. In that regard, the sense of fear that comes with the programming is not dissimilar to that contained in the propagandistic rubbish being dished out on Fox. The mere fact I feel exhausted after hours of focusing on the information disseminated on these programs should have served to remind me that listening to such programming has its own peril.

Yesterday, feeling spent and in need of some diversion to distract me from my angst, I decided to “tune out” and change channels, devoting a sizeable portion of the afternoon to watching Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access. The irony of finding relief from the news of the nation in watching Klingons talk of eating their enemies was not lost on me.

We on the “Left Coast” should not lose sight of the fact that we reside in a bubble—that our views, no matter how correct they seem to us—are not shared by much of the rest of the country. To pin our hopes on folks awakening from the fog of propaganda being proffered by the likes of Fox Views is to court disaster. And we should also be aware that, when it comes to bias, MSNBC is no more immune than those other outlets with whose views we disagree.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to observe the dismantling of our governmental institutions without running the real risk of burnout, but that is exactly what trump and his minions wish for us to do. Minus the opposition of those who find his actions deplorable, the president would finally be freed from any restraints whatsoever. In that respect, the citizenry is our last defense. In seeking distraction by watching Scfi, or whatever other diversion seems appealing, we might as well signal our surrender and resign ourselves to our fates.

So, I find myself having to choose between the twin perils of maintaining my vigil, with its attendant emotional and physiological consequences, and tuning out, with its ominous socio-political ramifications—a Catch 22 of the first order!

Tim Konrad