I spent the past couple of days hanging out with my family and friends, completely offline. In fact, I didn't even watch regular tv. I'm a big believer in balance and perhaps I'm taking too big of a leap here, but I suspect that the majority of human beings are the same way.

In the U.S. the voting percentages of people are nothing to brag about. For the 2004 Presidential Election only 55% of registered voters decided that the race was a big enough decision to take the time to either mail in an early ballot or get themselves over to a polling station. The 45% of nonvoters represent what I would consider Exhibit A of being "too disconnected."

Prior to Friday night, I was easily spending 12 hours of my days online reading blog commentary, news articles, research on political issues, posting diaries, hanging out in the Froggy Bottom Cafe, chatting with friends, etc. This is what I would consider Exhibit A of being "too connected."

My emotional state depends on information intake, and given the current status of U.S. policies, I'm quite certain that my blood pressure is higher than it should be. It's a natural reaction to continuous revelations that my government is torturing human beings, screwing the poor and elderly with their budget decisions, and working actively to make some Americans second-class citizens (think Alito on the SCOTUS or the "Marriage Protection" Amendment).

So the question is this: how do we strike a balance between staying aware of what's going on in the world and staying sane with an enjoyable life?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, Bud is interested too. See?