Why you absolutely do not need to watch the presidential debates

It’s OK to not watch the presidential debate tonight or any other night.

Maybe you don’t need me to tell you that, or maybe you do, but either way, not watching the debate this evening or any other evening would be one of the best ways to respect yourself and your emotional boundaries.

If you’re a person who has been alive at all for the past four years, you already know what’s at stake in this election and nothing that happens in tonight’s “debate” is going to sway you one way or the other.  Political debates in our age of media overload are already pretty pointless, but this presidential debate, just 35 days out from the election, feels especially so.

There is not a lot of middle ground between Trump and Biden, and their policy differences are pretty clear. Tuesday’s debate is not about information, it’s about posturing and spectacle, of both sides trying to convince you that their candidate is not a doddering fool.  Yes, voting is important and you should be civically engaged, but most likely, you already know who you’re voting for. Why spend what little free time you have by subjecting yourself to a performance, from either candidate, that is undoubtedly going to raise blood pressure and possibly have you tearing your hair out in frustration?

We’ve been immersed in a non-stop election cycle for much of 2020 and the best thing you can do for yourself right now is to turn off the debate, stay off the internet and let the political wolves carve up the carcasses. They don’t need you and you don’t need to be a part of this particular fight. Sometimes not engaging is the best way to use your political power.

The machine is going to rev itself up and tear itself apart tonight, and the best way to take care of your emotional health is to just park yourself in front of the Yankees-Indians baseball game, the WNBA playoffs, or turn on that new episode of Chopped.  I myself have DVR’d Con Air and plan to watch it between the hours of 9 to 11pm.  Netflix has some great options. So does Hulu! Big Bang Theory reruns on TBS would frankly be a better use of your time.

Nothing good is going to happen in tonight’s debate, and, in the unlikely scenario something good (i.e one candidate decides to tackle the other) does happen, you can catch the viral clip on Twitter.  What there will be is endless, obtuse chatter and all of it will push your political buttons.  As a favor to yourself and your mental health, just save your energy.

Not watching the debate doesn’t make you a bad citizen or bad at democracy or uncaring about the future of our country.  All it means is that you know a pointless political farce when you see it. Instead, use tonight to get some rest and then come out swinging in places where it’s really going to matter.

For the masochists that still aren’t swayed, follow along for debate insight here.