> However if I were to try and steelman the opposition for your position, I'd probably explore the argument that you could be living a very privileged life which might be part of the reason for why you're able to ignore the news.

Well, the other issue is that people pay too much attention to national news and waaaay to little attention to local news.

That fracking site that just opened up next to your farm should probably occupy your attention. The four slobs trying to bring fiber to your town need your support. The fact that your local sheriff's office is swinging around with military gear might be a bit of a concern. etc.

Sure, you want to make sure you are paying attention to whether the fascists are trying to take over nationally, however, those same people can do a lot more direct damage to you by taking over local control.

Yes! And you can do a lot more about those local issues. The small-scale but impactful to _you_ actions are a more satisfying way to exercise democracy and a good way to build that muscle.

Slicing economically (oversimplifying here and ignoring other certain types of vulnerable or feeling-under-attack groups) the people at the bottom and the people at the top don't generally need to worry about the news. The ones at the top will be fine either way. The ones at the bottom will continue to have to scrap along either way. It's the people in the middle who's level of comfort day-to-day could be most affected by political changes, for whom a change in tax rate or inflation or social subsidies could shift comfort into precariousness or vice versa.

You mean the people who are at the edge between the bottom and the middle. Those people will be most affected by political events.