November elections are coming – are you ready?

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If I can use the word awesome – a much overworked word – I recently returned from an awesome three-day, two-night backpacking trip in Big Sur. The experience leads me to write about a topic I don’t usually touch on – the need to unplug. 

I usually write about local politics, but I also, like many of you, have a fervent interest in national and international politics. I like to take a stand on issues and welcome criticism, which often comes. I relish the excitement of an election, and I have walked between three and 35 precincts in each election since 1972. I served six terms on the Santa Cruz City Council and five as mayor of our city. 

I’m gearing up for November, when locally we will see important supervisorial races for folks in the San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley areas and in Capitola and Aptos. There also will be a pathbreaking vote on taxing sugary drinks in the city of Santa Cruz along with several local tax or bond measures that will affect local services. The Scotts Valley and Watsonville city councils will have elections, as will the Cabrillo College board of trustees and several K-12 school district boards.

Nationally, I am as terrified as many of you at the prospect of another Donald Trump presidency, especially with his more organized corporate support for Project 2025 – a truly fascist program for America. I see the risk of losing control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which would then provide no brakes on the other two branches of government if Trump wins.

But, this backpacking trip led to a real epiphany: Sometimes we just need to get away from the relentless daily news, the need for staking out a position, and simply enjoy our natural surroundings. We need to be free from the constant drumbeat of apocalyptic breaking news, speculation about it and even what we think in order to come back recharged.

That’s why, as the politics start to rumble, I strongly counsel getting completely away for at least a few days. Perhaps I feel the pressure of the daily news more than others because I have only owned a smartphone for less than a year. Before that, I resisted, kept my flip phone with no internet or app connectivity. I get and make as many phone calls as anyone else, but I am appalled at how often people are on their phones rather than talking to each other in a restaurant. The constant focus on the phone interrupts any ability to have a sustained, analytical thought process or focus. (Thankfully, many local schools are now banning phones during the school day. A plethora of recent studies demonstrate the negative effects of smartphones on student education.)

Every day, I am bombarded with breaking news, much of which is a breathless recounting of the latest Trump outrage; however, it also includes massive information about the latest polls – virtually all of which proved to be incorrect predictors of the final outcome in both the 2016 and 2020 elections at this distance from Election Day. But even of less actual news value, there is the endless speculation on what each piece of the news or news possibility will mean in November. When we can’t say with any certainty whether 34 felony convictions will help or hurt Trump’s chances in November, what is the true value of such speculation?

Living in constant anxiety about the outcome in November is not good for anyone and totally unproductive for society. So I say: Take a break. 

We live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. There are limitless trails in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Mateo counties that are within an hour or two of Santa Cruz. 

Many are even closer. Most of the burned areas of our county are recovering already and beautiful to hike this time of year. I love the trails in and around Butano State Park in San Mateo County, and there are scores of trails everywhere in the Santa Cruz Mountains and along the ocean bluffs of north Santa Cruz County and San Mateo County. Trails off of Empire Grade and Highway 9 offer gorgeous walks through redwood forests. (Lookout has lots of recreation guides for you.) 

For health reasons, I was able to take a hike only two miles in from where we parked the car rather than the 10-to-15-mile hikes I used to take. But with even a hike of under 2 miles, my friend and I entered another world. Magical. 

We camped along a river in Big Sur. I had no access to cell service, newspapers, the internet, or  meetings. The woods and their flora and fauna along with the sounds of water rushing over rocks and wind in the trees quieted me. I slept outside without a tent, looked up through the redwoods at the stars, and contemplated the majesty of a complex universe and my humble place in it.

My hiking friend and I talked occasionally, but had agreed to avoid discussion of politics.  Mostly we just listened to screeching owls, crying hawks and chirping birds. We saw only a few people hiking by,  just before we left, and didn’t talk politics with them. Other than preparing simple meals, we spent most of our time once we got to our campsite just sitting around doing nothing.

I came home with a refreshed and restored mind, committed to reengaging in the political fight of a lifetime this November, but also with a stronger commitment to avoid being dragged into the meaningless and endless speculation about every stupid Trump tweet and minor Kamala Harris gaffe. All the chatter if Tim Walz is a good or bad pick (I think good) is just noise, not something I can impact at all.  

I suggest you try it too. And, when you return from your digital escape, ask yourself how you are going to be engaged this November. In the presidential election, it is more critically important than it perhaps has ever been that we take actions that can make a difference. Avoid wasting your time agonizing over the news and speculation about it. Do something real. With Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, we have a real chance to defeat Trump this fall.

My suggestions? Join Swing Left or Indivisible in making calls or emails to swing districts. If you can afford it, contribute to good candidates, and don’t let the desire for perfection in a candidate be the enemy of supporting the best real choices. 

Oh, and spend less time playing with your smartphone.