A month without mentioning the Sarah Palin passed like other withdrawals — with decreasing pain and need. She disappeared from my blogs, podcast and in private conversations. As a news hound who lives online and receives multiple print newspapers and magazines, I found that she'd pop up often but quickly lost all power.
I recommend not playing her self-promotion game.
The originator of the cold-turkey February was WaPo columnist Dana Milbank (obscured here in a transformed shot from his own self-promotion site). He figuratively ran up and down the hall today going on about his own February avoidance.Of course, we have a graduated scale of media lust and influence. Certainly, she ranks way up there in the pretense that what she says and does are worthy of coverage and comment. Milbank is likely in a middle range, self-important as newspaper columnists tend to be. He thinks his non-coverage of and comment on her is worthy of coverage and comment. Way down at the personal level would be walk-on extras like bloggers, including me.
A smallish difference here is that I think and feel I have truly come to terms with and mastered my addiction. He makes no promises.
During February, I too found it hard to pass up the dumbest and the most provocative of her ploys. Moreover, with friends, family, and even other bloggers, she would come up for discussion...but not with input from me. Even in tweets and on Facebook, I would get teasers to comment or groups or events to join...ha!
I admit the obvious. She is can be as addictive as any cheap drug — easily available, cheap thrills, but also easy to kick. If I mention her again anywhere, it will be with what I think is an insight and not just another easy shot.
2 comments:
I've enjoyed the past month so much that I may keep on with it.
Truth. I'm OC enough that freedom from that compulsion is a small delight.
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