Why You Need Deck Time in a Noisy Political World

Table of Contents

• Why We Obsess Over Politics (And Why We Do Not Have To)
• The Quiet Strength of Everyday Life
• A Front Porch Case Study: Choosing Stars Over Screen Time
• Designing Your Own “Deck Time” Routine
• When to Engage – and When to Unplug
• Next Steps and Interactive Resources

Why We Obsess Over Politics (And Why We Do Not Have To)

In a world of push alerts and political hot takes, it is easy to feel like every headline is an emergency. The original article by political scientist and columnist R. Bruce Anderson highlights a paradox: politics dominates the noise of our lives, yet most Americans actually think about politics less than people in many other countries.

Why? Because in what he calls our “big, sloppy, inefficient democracy,” the system is built to experiment, adjust, and self-correct over time. That does not mean problems are trivial, but it does mean not every outrage deserves your full attention, all the time.

“A life wholly consumed with angst about government is a waste.”

Anderson argues that both the political left and right benefit from keeping citizens in a permanent state of near-panic – a “constant edge-world of a threatening end-time catastrophe.” Data on media consumption backs this up: outrage and anxiety increase clicks, time-on-page, and ad revenue. But your mental health pays the price.

The Quiet Strength of Everyday Life

Most people navigate life through practical, local concerns, not partisan flame wars. According to the column, what truly worries many Americans is:

• Schools and education quality
• Taxes, energy costs, and roadwork in their neighborhoods
• Effective, well-trained law enforcement
• Clean parks and basic public services that work

These local issues are where your engagement is most tangible and impactful. At the same time, you still have:

• Jobs and careers that demand focus
• Kids to raise and aging parents to support
• Sports, hobbies, and community commitments
• Gardens, pets, and friendships that need presence, not punditry

In other words, your real life is the anchor that keeps politics in proportion.

A Front Porch Case Study: Choosing Stars Over Screen Time

To illustrate this balance, Anderson shares a personal example. Returning from overseas, he faced a long list of house repairs in his 100-year-old Florida home: bathrooms, kitchen, and more. Instead of tackling the flashy interior projects, he chose something different:

• He restored the front veranda.
• He rebuilt the back deck.

Why prioritize those? Because he “needed the peace of sitting and watching stars and bugs and lizards and birds” more than a remodeled bathroom or high-end espresso machine.

This is a powerful, data-supported mental health strategy. Studies consistently show that time outdoors or in nature-facing spaces reduces stress, improves sleep, and lowers anxiety. A modest porch or balcony can deliver those benefits just as effectively as a mountain retreat if you use it intentionally.

“We need to remember that we all need deck time, too.”

Designing Your Own “Deck Time” Routine

You do not need a historic veranda to create a refuge from political overload. You can design your own “deck time” with whatever space you have right now.

Try this 4-step, data-informed ritual:

• Pick a place: A porch, balcony, park bench, backyard chair, or even a sunny spot by a window.
• Set a time boundary: 10–20 minutes, once or twice a day, with no news apps or social feeds.
• Add a grounding activity: Read a physical book, sip coffee or tea, sketch, or simply watch birds and trees.
• Protect it like an appointment: Put it in your calendar, and let family know this is unplugged time.

If you enjoy interactive mental breaks, consider pairing “deck time” with offline puzzles or games. You might replicate the feel of the PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more mentioned on the original site—just in analog form.

When to Engage – and When to Unplug

Anderson is clear: this is not an argument for political apathy. There are genuinely “dire things that emerge” and “rotten policies” that demand attention, especially when government actions are cruel or harmful.

The key is discerning between:

• Purposeful engagement: Voting, attending local meetings, volunteering, staying informed from reputable sources.
• Draining obsession: Endless doomscrolling, outrage-sharing, and arguing in comments that change no one’s mind.

As he promises to “get back to hammering away” at politics with energy and adrenaline, his own life still models something healthier: periods of intensity balanced by intentional retreat. That is a rhythm you can adopt, too.

Next Steps and Interactive Resources

To put these insights into action, consider:

• Create a weekly “news budget”: Decide how many minutes per day or week you will devote to news, and stick to it.
• Schedule local engagement: Swap one hour of doomscrolling for attending a school board or city council meeting this month.
• Build a personal “PLAY hub” at home: Keep a stack of books, puzzles, and games near your favorite chair to make unplugging easy.
• Journal your mood: For one week, track how you feel after political bingeing vs. after “deck time.” Adjust based on what actually makes you feel grounded.

Want to go deeper? Explore content on:

• How to reduce news anxiety without becoming uninformed
• Simple local civic engagement ideas that actually make a difference
• Low-cost ways to turn any porch, balcony, or corner into a calming retreat

By consciously balancing your attention between democracy and daily life, you honor both. Your community benefits from your clear-headed engagement, and you benefit from the sanity that only real “deck time” can offer.

Source: https://www.theledger.com/story/opinion/columns/2025/12/31/the-front-porch-a-needed-refuge-from-politics-r-bruce-anderson/87957323007/